


Skeleton Sisters Meet the Landlady

by nighttimelights



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: (technically with all that goooood good flirting), F/F, F/M, Female Reader, Lady Reader, Multi, Papyrus/Reader - Freeform, and of course they're going to connect with you, and then some eyyy, in which lady versions of the guys exist too because of course they do, lilytale, of varying genders hell yeah, reader/skeletons, sans/reader - Freeform, wlw
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-25
Updated: 2018-03-04
Packaged: 2019-03-24 02:42:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 35,431
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13801680
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nighttimelights/pseuds/nighttimelights
Summary: You're past the point of being deeply surprised when you meet another version of the skeleton brothers, but this is breaking the pattern a bit - even for them. Then again, with personalities like theirs, you're finding yourself making some apt comparisons...But as charming as they are, you might be able to hazard a guess as to why the skeletons sisters didn't stay at the lodge.





	1. Seeing Double

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [Skeleton Squatters and the Landlady](https://archiveofourown.org/works/9816140) by [Tyrant_Tortoise](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tyrant_Tortoise/pseuds/Tyrant_Tortoise). 



> So lilytale, for those that don't follow my art blog on Tumblr ([@nighttimepixels](nighttimepixels.tumblr.com)), is an AU in which it's a multiverse-crossover where lady versions of everyone's favorite skelebro pairs have been pulled into a big misfit family of their own. I'm working on their own fic currently, but I couldn't get this crossover out of my head with Ty's incredible [SSLL](https://archiveofourown.org/works/9816140/chapters/22041383) fic, and accidentally ended up writing a minific instead of a oneshot. 
> 
> This will be 5 chapters in total, so leave your comments! And let's hope you can survive another 9 skeletons being introduced to your life at the lodge, shall we...? ♡ ～('▽^d)

“there’s something innately magical about seeing someone flip a pancake without it getting stuck on the ceiling.”

You glanced up from where you’d just successfully flipped your pancake towards Stretch, seated at the bar stools of the kitchen counter, phone in hand as he whistled low. There definitely was an undeniable feeling of satisfaction you got from a good pancake flip, but you still laughed.

“Says the guy who can manipulate  _ gravity _ and summon bones out of thin air?” You arched a brow at him. Stretch simply waved a hand with a lazy grin as if waving off the incredible nature of those abilities in favor of appreciatively eyeing your pancake. 

“trust me honey, if you’d seen as many fires started just from someone making scrambled eggs as I have, you’d marvel at that kinda breakfast magic too.”

You pointed your spatula in acknowledgement towards him at that. Given the tendencies of nearly half the skeletons you’d already met, you too had a newfound appreciation for the simple things in life… like  _ not _ going through fire extinguishers faster than you went through a bag of chips.

It was a fairly quiet morning, or as quiet as they ever seemed to be. Most of the guys were focused on their own interests, and while Blue and Papyrus had been down here when you came down, they’d ended up running off to go handle some ‘important puzzle business’ that you had decided you needed coffee before inquiring about. That left you and Stretch, making your late-morning pancake cooking a pleasantly chill experience. 

You settled back against the counter, picking up your coffee mug and taking a long sip from it as you let the other side cook. “Got any plans for today?”

Stretch was idly scrolling through his phone, his own coffee mug half-drained on the bar counter in front of him. He shrugged, looking up at to reply - before his mouth snapped shut and suddenly his eyelights flickered back down to his phone as if only just registering something he’d seen. His thumb swiped along the screen to look at it better, and you raised a brow as his previously relaxed posture went completely still. 

“... Everything okay…?” you ventured.

At your voice Stretch looked back up at you, flipping his phone deftly in his hand and extending it towards you to see. 

“hey, does this place look familiar…? isn’t that a coffee shop in town?”

You leaned in, confused but curious, and took a look - before nodding. “Oh, yeah, I recognize that place. Smaller, but good reviews - I’ve heard it has a regular schedule of live musicians that play there,” you replied. It was a pretty cute on-the-rise part of the local scene - the picture Stretch was showing you appeared to be a streetview of the place, with what was actually a really nice framing of the surroundings in good light with the nearby park in edging the background of the shot no less. It appeared to be a post on one of the popular monster social media sites, and while you couldn’t see the username, there was a caption visible below it.

‘ _ Surprise roadtrip means coffee, everytime.’ _

Stretch was standing suddenly, pulling his phone back and tucking it into his hoodie pocket. 

You had the distinct feeling that if your skeletal lodgemate  _ could _ go pale, he would have.

“have you seen Sans this morning?”

You shook your head. “No, not yet. Why, what’s up?”

Stretch was already walking away, and given that you were curious and perhaps a little concerned, you turned off the heat on your now cooked pancake and followed.

“well, y’know how you haven’t met all the, uh, versions of us? well-” he swore then under his breath, having pulled out his phone again to look closer at the picture, his hand running over his skull. “-posted half an hour ago-? oh hell, then they’re probably-”

The sound of familiar boots bounding down the stairs drew your confused attention upwards. Blue all but leapt deftly over the edge of the railing when he spotted Stretch, tight but bright energy running through him.

“PAPY-! DID YOU SEE- I THINK GLYPH’S IN TOWN, DO YOU THINK SHE’S COMING BY? MAYBE EVEN WITH THE OTHERS-?” He stopped in front of his brother, waving his own phone and an identical social feed showing the same picture before he turned to you. “GOOD MORNING AGAIN!! THIS IS EXCITING, GLYPH DOESN’T USUALLY COME BY MUCH, I THINK YOU MIGHT GET TO MEET-”

The doorbell rang then, and as one your heads turned to the front door. 

“... oh hell,” Stretch said.

“WHAT GOOD TIMING!!”

Blue’s hand closed around yours, tugging you with him to the door before you could even think to protest. Stretch followed suprisingly quickly, and it was his hand that met the knob first before Blue could reach it.

You weren’t sure what you were expecting when he opened the door, but it certainly wasn’t what you found.

Leaning against the doorframe, clearly the one who had rung the bell, was a tall skeleton with an easy, mysterious sort of smile. Cracks ran along their face, down from their left socket and up from their right -  _ almost exactly like G’s _ , you couldn’t help but note. This skeleton though had a curious haze of magic over their eyelids, and wore a cutoff tanktop with a faded band logo on it and a long plaid shirt and leather motorcycle jacket over that. 

Beside them stood two more skeletons - the tallest dressed in a bright outfit including a fairly short skirt and yellow thigh-high socks, with marks that reminded you of freckles on their cheekbones and a similar but differently colored haze of magic over their eyelids; the shorter skeleton next to them, wearing a beanie and a long zip-up blue hoodie accompanied by legwarmers poking out of their boots, also had freckles. All three looked from Stretch immediately to you, surprised and unmistakeably  _ delighted _ .

“so he really was tellin’ the truth,” the one in the beanie said with a grin, hands slipping into pants pockets in a very familiar way.

“OH MY STARS, SHE’S EVEN CUTER THAN I IMAGINED-!!” The one in the skirt’s gloved hands flew up to their mouth.

“Didn’t you say she had t’ have a smile like a sunrise while we were driving…?” The one that looked like G looked to their tallest companion, who simply smiled even brighter.

“I STAND BY MY ASSESSMENT, THANK YOU VERY MUCH!”

You looked from them to the boys on either side of you. Blue looked ready to bounce out of his boots, and Stretch looked slightly strained as he turned his gaze back to you from looking at something in the distance over the head of the one in the beanie. 

“... hun, meet Glyph, Vellum, and Serif,” he said with a sigh, shaking his head and finding a slight grin again, sliding his phone back into his pocket and gesturing to the skeletons in front of you.

You extended your hand, still surprised but taking it in stride. There was something to be said for the practice you’d had by now in meeting surprise skeletons. “It’s nice to meet you guys,” you greeted, adding your name with a smile of your own.

Glyph, the one who looked rather like G, took your hand first, shaking it the once and squeezing it with the kind of eye contact that made you feel as if they were greeting you in a much more private setting.

“Glyph, love. I’ve heard a lot about you.”

“Of course you have,” you said dryly, glancing towards Stretch. He simply lifted his hands though, grinning a little more easily.

“hey, wasn’t me this time, really,” he replied.

“ _ This  _ time?”

The one in the beanie stepped forward then, hand extended. “some of us have a habit of bein’ unable to resist talkin’ about what’s been on our minds, at least with one another,” they said with an easy wink. There was a surprisingly soft tilt to their voice, in the same way you realized the other two had, but before you could consider it further, you had taken their hand - and were rewarded with the familiar feel and sound of a whoopie cushion.

You laughed immediately, shaking your head and grinning, warming up to the newest arrivals more despite the unexpected arrival. “You’ve  _ got _ to be a Sans,” you said, brow lifting.

Their expression shifted, their own brows lifting minutely as they glanced to Stretch and Blue on either side of you before grinning wider. 

“Sans  _ wishes _ he was me,” was the easy reply as your hand was released and they laughed. “i’m Serif. it’s good to put a face to the name after all this time.”

“SISTER, YOU SHOULDN’T GREET HER FOR THE FIRST TIME LIKE THAT-!”

Your gaze turned up to the tallest of the trio then, eyes widening as the final piece clicked into place, a confirmation as unexpected as their arrival.

“I’M VELLUM, BUT PLEASE CALL ME VELL! I APOLOGIZE FOR MY SISTER’S RUDENESS - SHE’S GOT A BAD HABIT OF GREETING NEW FRIENDS IN THE WORST WAYS-”

“aw, c’mon sis, don’t go takin’ the  _ wind outta my sails _ like that.”

“YOU’RE FINE, I CAN SEE  _ AND _ HEAR YOU LAUGHING!”

“ahhh, caught red-handed. it’s clearly a  _ breeze _ to see through me for you.”

“OH MY GOD.”

“Um, real quick-” you managed to cut in, drawing the gaze of everyone there. Somehow, you could  _ feel _ Blue’s excitement on one side of you, and Stretch’s vaguely amused acceptance on the other. “I wish I knew how to ask this more, er, delicately, but… are you all… girls?”

Glyph was grinning then, her previously lidded gaze opened and focused more as she chuckled quietly. Serif winked at you and looked pleased, while Vell’s hands took up yours as she bent slightly down towards you, a sparkle in her eyelights, the one to actually answer. “INDEED, CUTE LITTLE HUMAN FRIEND! YOU’RE JUST AS SMART AS I KNEW YOU’D BE!”

In the blink of an eye you found yourself scooped up into a surprisingly warm hug that smelled of citrus and spiced cider, and a surprised noise squeaked out of you as Vell spun you in a circle, laughing brightly as she hugged you tight and lifted you high off the ground.

“IT REALLY IS A PLEASURE TO MEET YOU! OH, CRIMSON, SCARLET, COME MEET HER - AW, CRAB CAKES, THE OTHERS AREN’T HERE YET - BUT LISTEN, SHE’S EVEN MORE LOVELY THAN WE’D GUESS, CAN YOU BELIEVE IT?”

Almost instinctively you had hugged her back, holding on for what would have been dear life if it wasn’t for the fact that the excited and tight hug was proving far more gentle than most Papyrus-type hugs you’d experienced.

“Others-?” You asked, a little bewildered and breathless in her hug - but then you were set back on your feet, Vell’s hands on your shoulders as you caught a glimpse of Blue trying to get out from inside and onto the porch with you-

-where you could see two other skeletons striding up the front steps.

“well holy shit, looks like our counterparts weren’t lyin’ after all -  _ and _ she’s cute as hell? damn!”

A whistle accompanied the words of the one walking up the steps currently. She wore a red, low-cut vaguely transluscent shirt with a leather vest and a furred hood, a recognizable golden fang in one corner of her mouth and collar around her neck, and had red eyelights. She carried herself casually, with the kind of walk that almost reminded you of a girl gang delinquent from one of those japanese shows you’d watched before-

“this is Crimson,” came Serif’s voice next to you. You glanced towards Serif, seeing her step closer to you and nod to the one approaching you. 

You stuck out your hand for Crimson, watching her grin crook upwards and her eyes lid slightly as she took it. “Let me guess - you’re a lady version of Red, then?”

“more like Red’s the guy version of me, sweetheart,” she replied with a wink, stepping up close to you without releasing your hand. She drew your hand upwards, stepping just barely into your personal space with the kind of subtle ease that made it hard to want to look away from her. “i’d say i’ve got a bit more of that spirit you humans call  _ red-blooded _ , after all-”

“YOU DON’T HAVE BLOOD, BONEHEAD.”

Crimson rolled her eyes, but you caught the fact that her grin hadn’t turned annoyed- just amused and exasperated, and she rolled her eyes conspiratorially at you. “sure, sis, caught me  _ red-handed _ on that one.”

As you heard a groan behind her, she winked once more, and her teeth pressed a kiss to your knuckles that had your cheeks heating slightly despite yourself. Before you could properly react, Crimson stepped to the side just as quickly as she stolen a kiss against your knuckles. She pocketed her hands, making room for someone new-

“sweetheart, meet my lil sis - Scarlet. Scar, this is the guys’ landlady.”

Towering nearly as tall as Edge himself, Scarlet had her arms crossed as she looked down at you with a boney brow raised. Her lids were tinted with magic as well, only a slightly darker shade than Crimson’s, and she wore a scarf that matched the blood-red of it over what seemed to be a handmade shirt of her own screen printed design, with shorts that barely covered the top of her femurs. A soft, flowing charcoal vest draped down nearly to her knees. Combined with the height of her booted heels and the scars seemingly proudly on display, she posed quite the figure.

“... Hello,” you ventured slowly. Too many run-ins with Edge had you a little more wary of her, but despite it all, she didn’t seem outright hostile.

Well, not yet.

She inclined her head to your greeting just the once, almost more recognition than you would have expected from a version of Edge.

“... I AGREE WITH MY ROOMMATES’ ASSESSMENTS. YOU ARE MORE THAN I EXPECTED WHEN I’D HEARD THEY’D FOUND A LANDLADY.”

Your own arms crossed at that, a flare of something defensive, protective, and a little annoyed in you.

“Are you implying something about what you thought I was capable of, or what you thought  _ them _ capable of?” 

She stared back at you, not shifting at your tone - until a few seconds later, when her eyesockets narrowed slightly and the corner of her mouth tilted upwards. The effect was a little predatory - almost like you’d accidentally amused a lion.

“QUICK ON HER FEET, TOO,” she commented, seemingly to Crimson, who was grinning herself with a cigarette of some kind now hanging from her mouth. Scarlet nodded to you fully then, though she still didn’t extend her hand. “I LIKE YOU. YOU SHOULD COME WITH US.”

It sounded like Blue and Crimson both choked on something at the same time, while Vell sounded like she’d just tried to swallow an excited squeak. 

Serif was just outright laughing, turning to glance up at Stretch behind you as she spoke up. “c’mon Scar, let’s maybe not threaten to kidnap the first cute human the guys’ve managed to not scare off - heh, so no need to get your hoodie in a twist, Stretch.”

“feels like you all always manage to get something  _ tangled _ anytime you stop by. it’s a real gift,” you heard Stretch say dryly, though you missed the expression on his face that had Serif’s grin turning oddly mischievous. 

Crimson recovered, now holding her blue-tipped cigarette between her fingers as she looked up at her sister. “holy shit, sis, i don’t think i’ve heard you approve of anything quite so fast since that latest edition of your favorite stuffed ca-”

“SHUT IT, CRIMSON!”

You stifled a laugh into your hand, drawing the gaze of the others once more and interrupting the sibling banter between Crimson and Scarlet. You waved your other hand, still laughing and taking a step back, causing you to bump into Vell. 

“I’m sorry, it’s just - your resemblance to Red and Edge is uncanny, yet still so different-”

“i think you mispronounced  _ better _ ,” Crimson shot back, her grin returning to shit-eating levels as she leaned against one of the posts of the front porch. Scarlet’s own almost-smirk had lifted further too, and you could see the sibling relation between them intensely in that moment. 

It made their grins a little infectious.

At that moment Blue managed to break out from behind Vellum, Serif, and Glyph in the doorway, squeezing between them with almost surprising care before popping out next to you, his hands on his hips as he looked around at the group.

“SCARLET, CRIMSON! HELLO AGAIN! WHERE ARE THE OTHERS?? THEY’RE TAKING AN ODD AMOUNT OF TIME TO COME ARRIVE, SHOULD WE-”

Crimson’s eyesockets widened at getting a proper sight of Blue and in a flash of movement she had Blue in a headlock, her knuckles rolling in a noogie against his skull. You heard Stretch make a sound behind you, but it was hard to pay attention to anything else as Blue began to squirm in her hold, laughing but clearly pretending to be annoyed about it.

“CRIMSON, NO-!”

“Crimson  _ yes _ ,” she replied with a laugh, intensifying her noogying. “what happened t’ keepin’ in touch with your teacher, huh Blue-bones-”

“I TRIED! YOU’RE THE ONE WHO NEVER ANSWERS MESSAGES- I  _ TOLD _ YOU YOU SHOULD HAVE COME TO GYFTMAS, YOU COULD HAVE JOINED IN THE GAMES-”

Crimson was laughing, somehow continuing to overpower Blue. You’d seen measures of his strength before; despite his bright and warm nature he was absurdly strong, so you couldn’t help but be a little impressed. You wondered if perhaps he was just holding back for her sake-

At that moment, you noticed the sound of approaching motorcycles in the cover of the forest, but couldn’t look away as you watched Blue suddenly twist his torso, kicking his legs over Crimson’s shoulder to flip over end and throw her hold - but she moved just as quickly, releasing him just long enough to snag at one of his hands and nearly pin him to the ground. His feet followed just as quickly to her shift in balance, and with a firm plant of one foot he managed to duck and roll, causing her to be sent over him, landing in a roll of her own, her hand dragging against the ground to stop herself and twist around to face him as she landed in a crouch.

“toldya, try sendin’ a text, i’ll answer that -  _ senpai’s _ pretty bad with that social media business,” she said without missing a beat, the only clue that she’d even registered what just happened the grin she shot him.

Blue’s fists were on his hips as he popped to a standing position, his own grin bright as he looked at her accusingly. Behind you, you heard Stretch mutter something under his breath, and Serif and Glyph laughed quietly in response. 

“YOU’RE AS BAD A LIAR AS ALWAYS, CRIMSON!”

She feigned hurt, placing a hand over her sternum. “called out by my own apprentice! oh the betrayal-” she chuckled as she pushed back to her feet as well, her hands tucking back in her pockets. “... and oh the honesty,” she added, glancing then to you with a waggle of her brow.

“You’re… Blue’s teacher?” You asked incredulously, torn between looking between them and up towards the sound of motorcycles just out of sight. 

“WHEN THEY STILL LIVED HERE, CRIMSON AND I USED TO SPAR!” Blue explained brightly, looking back to you. “SHE HAS A…  _ VERY DIFFERENT _ FIGHTING STYLE, SO WHENEVER I COULD GET HER TO JOIN ME, SHE’D SHOW ME SOME OF HER TRICKS!”

“he’d jump her and hope she’d do some matrix moves, ‘m pretty sure,” Stretch said behind you dryly. “‘n you thought Black ‘n his competitions could get intense…”

Crimson shrugged at this, not denying it. “talk about livin’ with a kinda energy i just don’t have. but i appreciate that kinda spunk, so i took him under my wing.” She took a few steps, coming close enough to lightly punch his shoulder. “beanstalk’s got a good lil bro, after all. couldn’t have him gettin’ jumped by some local assholes ‘n not bein’ prepared for handlin’ a proper brawl as opposed to his fancy sparrin’.”

You almost wanted to ask what her idea of a ‘proper brawl’ was, but it was then that at last the motorcycles came into view, free now of the thick of the forest as they came to a stop next to the old but clearly loved sturdy green truck you could only assume had somehow fit the five skeleton women standing around you now.

“THERE THEY ARE-!” Blue was immediately down the stairs, moving towards the four - no,  _ five _ figures split between the two bikes.

You quickly found yourself ushered forward and down the porch steps, Vellum’s hand on one shoulder, Serif’s arm brushing against your other arm, and the sound of Glyph laughing in a smokey tone at something Stretch said behind you.

Serif spoke up, grinning at you in somewhat dry amusement. “so bear with us - i’m guessing you’ve got quite the experience at this point with the guys, but uh, we can be a bit…” she trailed off, glancing to the side and then up towards her sister on your other side, who squeezed your shoulder and leaned down with one eye closed in an extended wink and a finger raised.

“WE’RE VERY PASSIONATE ABOUT LIFE!” she said, smoothly and warmly rolling with Serif’s lines with a genuine smile you couldn’t help but return. 

What a cool sister.

Your attention was drawn forward then at the sound of a commotion, and your eyes widened as you saw a skeleton dressed brightly in a yellow blouse and peach skirt with eyelids hazed in light blue swing her leg over the motorcycle she kicked the stand on. As she dismounted a small skeletal figure jumped from her back - apparently tucked in her scarf - to land nimbly on the other skeleton’s lap, the one who’d been sitting behind as passenger. The main rider immediately moved to tackle Blue as he ran forward to do the same, causing them to crash together in a fierce hug that you could only assume must shake the very foundation of any other hug’s claim to fame.

“BLUE! I WAS HOPING YOU’D BE HOME!” The woman, who you could only place in the group as being another version of Blue himself with similarly brilliantly cerulean eyelights, was laughing and attempting to lift him off the ground at the same time Blue was attempting to do the same to her.

“I CAN’T BELIEVE YOU SHOWED UP WITHOUT WARNING- HOW LONG HAVE YOU GUYS BEEN PLANNING THIS??”

“c’mon, Blue, you know us-” the latest voice came from the skeleton who had been sitting behind Blue’s double. She crossed a leg over her seat as she took out a cigarette that was electric-blue at the tip, but simply placed it between her teeth without lighting it and grinned lazily at her sister and Blue. She had a hoodie tied around her waist, and wore a low-cut orange tanktop and fitted longer shorts and converse. “we woke up, Glyph came downstairs for breakfast after gettin’ in late last night, ‘n she pitched us a road trip.”

“AND NOW WE’RE HERE!” chimed in her sister, stepping back at last from hugging Blue, her hands framing her hips in an uncannily similar way that he did.

“i swear, they might as well be twins.”

Stretch had walked forward at last, glancing from them to you with a low chuckle. It was clear he’d been feeling some sort of apprehension - or dread, it was hard to say, he really  _ was  _ good at masking his true emotions - when the first of the skeletons sisters had arrived, but he seemed to have entered a state of amused acceptance at this point. He raised a hand in a lazy wave towards the woman in the orange tanktop then, glancing curiously at the figure in her lap.

“hey, Amber. who’s the fun-sized addition to the family?”

The woman - Amber, apparently - laughed, finally shifting to stand, hand holding steady long enough for the small figure to jump to her shoulder. “heya, Stretch. how’s the view from up there?” She approached, drawing the looks of Blue and her sister, who looked starry-eyed as she caught sight of you. There was clearly a running joke between Amber and Stretch on the height topic, given that even in flat sneakers she was almost the exact same height as him. She lifted a hand extended in a fist to him - which he met in a fistbump, their grins matching. Her hand shifted then to gesture to her shoulder, pointing at the companion that, as they approached, you were unable to see clearly as they were on Amber’s opposite shoulder-

But before Amber could introduce the figure, your attention was drawn away again at the speedy approach of Blue’s double and someone from the other motorcycle that she was tugging with her-

-without a doubt, another lady skeleton that, in the trend of things,  _ had _ to be the double of Black. 

“C’MON PEPPER, YOU CAN SETTLE YOUR SCORE WITH BLACK LATER - WE CAME ALL THIS WAY TO MEET THEIR LANDLADY, NOT TO CAUSE PROPERTY DAMAGE-!”

“please don’t cause property damage,” Stretch said, in a tone that clearly said he already expected it.

“SPEAK FOR YOURSELF, SAPPHIRE, I-”

Both came to a stop a few feet in front of you. Another figure trailed behind them, but your gaze was split between the two in front of you. 

Pepper, apparently, had a nearly identical scar to Black’s over one eyesocket, though again - as seemed to be the constant among the lady skeletons - she too had a haze of her tinted magic over her eyelids. She was dressed in a way that you couldn’t help but quietly appreciate - a sort of lowkey fashionable that wasn’t shoved in your face, but still showed subtle and skilled effort - a croptop dark sweater that artfully slouched off one shoulder and in the sleeves near her wrists, framed by a large and vibrant purple cable-knit scarf. She wore short-shorts like Scarlet, but wore star-designed purple stockings underneath it and knee-high heeled boots.

Sapphire - Amber’s sister and Blue’s double, given context clues - was dressed extremely stylishly as well, yet in a similarly comfortable and almost approachable sort of way. Her bright blue scarf overlaid her yellow blouse and sunset peach flared skirt with yellow lace and a slight glimpse of aqua shorts underneath. Thigh-high dark socks stretched below that to her boots, similarly heeled, but a little lower. 

Both had apparently gone silent for several moments as they stopped in front of you.

Sapphire’s eyelights turned starry then, and she let go of Pepper in favor of clasping your hands between your own.

“STARS, I’D HEARD YOU WERE LOVELY, BUT HEARSAY REALLY NEVER DOES DO JUSTICE, DOES IT?”

Her tone was full of a veracity and warmth you couldn’t begin to doubt, so instead your cheeks heated slightly, growing a little bewildered at the complimentary nature of these lady skeletons. 

Pepper spoke next, her arms crossing over her chest, though she looked at you thoughtfully and more than a little intensely. “HOW THE HELL DID YOU END UP WITH THIS BAND OF IDIOTS?”

“GEE, THANKS, PEPPER,” you heard Blue say from behind them, sounding neither surprised nor put off by her behavior. She simply waved him off though, her attention not wavering from you.

“My family owns the lodge, actually,” you explained, hands still held between Sapphire’s. “No one else wanted to take care of it or look into it and so one weekend with it left to me I… ended up coming here to check it out, and surprise surprise, turns out there were a significant number of skeletons who’d taken to haunting the place.”

You couldn’t help but grin slightly at the memory. That time had been both painful and tumultuous while ending up one of the warmest twists in fate in your life, a turning point you’d never have been able to see coming. You glanced up at Stretch, who was already looking down at you - his own lopsided grin a little softer. 

He lifted a hand, putting it on your head and ruffling your hair. “yeah, we got lucky in the end. not only was she a good human at soul, she was actually willing to put up with us.”

You shook your head, viewing the situation pretty significantly differently, that much clear in the way you looked at him with a brow raised, but he simply shrugged and put his hands back in his hoodie pocket, clearly not amending his viewpoint.

“CLEARLY YOU HAVE THE PATIENCE OF A KNIGHTKNIGHT,” Pepper said, a single brow arching. It was nearly impossible to tell if it was mild horror on her expression, or a look of muted, impressed interest. 

“WE’VE HEARD ONLY BITS AND PIECES ABOUT YOU-!” Sapphire added, her hands lightly squeezing yours. “WE’VE BEEN WANTING TO MEET YOU EVER SINCE WE FIRST HEARD ABOUT YOU, BUT WE HADN’T BEEN ABLE TO MAKE IT DOWN TOGETHER-”

“‘n we tend t’be a little  _ discouraged _ from showin’ up all at once usually,” Amber slid in, her brow lifting and her eyes flickering knowingly to Stretch.

“-BUT IT WASN’T FAIR IF ONLY A  _ COUPLE _ OF US MET YOU FIRST,” Sapphire continued, sighing heavily and shaking her head.

“I COULD HAVE GONE FIRST AND ENSURED THAT SHE WAS-”

“PEPPER, YOU WOULD HAVE SPENT HALF A DAY CHALLENGING BLACK TO A REMATCH BEFORE THE SUN WENT DOWN, AT WHICH POINT I’M SURE THEIR LOVELY LANDLADY WOULDN’T HAVE BEEN IN THE GREATEST MOOD FOR INTRODUCTIONS.”

Pepper looked away, rolling her eyes, but the slight pull of her mouth told plenty of how apt Sapphire’s wry reply had been. Sapphire only chuckled at that before looking back to you.

“OF COURSE THOUGH, WHERE ARE  _ MY _ MANNERS! I’M SAPPHIRE, AND THIS IS MY SISTER AMBER-” she let go of one of your hands, comfortably still holding the other as she gestured to her. Amber saluted you with two fingers.

“pleasure to meet the famous landlady we’ve been hearin’ about,” she said, tucking her hand back in her pocket and glancing towards Stretch in a way you couldn’t quite read.

“AND THIS IS PEPPER-” Sapphire continued, her smile bright as she gestured to her other side. Pepper nodded at you, back to looking at you with a measured but hard-to-read curiosity. “-AND THIS IS PEPPER’S SISTER, CINNAMON!”

Sapphire stepped slightly to the side then, allowing you to finally see the last of their group - a skeleton taller than Amber and Stretch, but wearing her height so comfortably it oddly didn’t entirely stick out. She wore a sleeveless umber sweater and a dark jean cutoff vest over it, with several art patches sewn onto it. It had a large furred hood too, fluffing out like a cloud around her face and shoulders - undoubtedly she was Russ’ double, with her golden fang and extensive eyesocket scar. She too wore short-shorts, with dark fishnet stockings underneath and thick knee-high boots. She lifted a hand in greeting, a cigarette similar to Amber’s hanging from her teeth, only hers was lit.

“mornin’, lil landlady,” she greeted smoothly. Her voice was smokey and low, and while she stood in the back, there was something about her that now that you’d been introduced, made it easy for your eyes to be drawn to her.

Sapphire pulled your attention back though, adding, “AND THIS IS ALPHA! ACTUALLY - BLUE, STRETCH, YOU HAVEN’T GOTTEN TO MEET HER YET, EITHER-”

Amber had turned, revealing the partially-obscured figure on her shoulder at last. Your eyes went wide, mouth falling open slightly - standing on her shoulder wasn’t  _ just  _ a small skeleton. As she looked up at her name being called, causing her hood to fall back slightly, she was revealed to have markings and a look about her that simply and clearly spoke  _ robot _ . Her hooded jacket was long and layered, falling down to her thighs, and her entire look had a casual cyberpunk aesthetic that, honestly, was absurdly fitting for her. She was at most 16 or 17 inches tall, yet as she looked towards you and blinked, seemed  _ extremely _ well-articulated.

Beside you, in your peripheral, you saw Stretch go slightly stiff. 

Alpha tapped on Amber’s skull, to which Amber raised a hand, allowing her to nimbly jump down - and then hop into Serif’s now extended hand, getting her closer to you. 

“WE CAME ACROSS HER A WHILE BACK, BUT SHE FIT RIGHT IN,” Sapphire explained. “WE FIGURED WE’D INTRODUCE YOU ALL ONCE WE CAME OVER NEXT-”

Serif shrugged, glancing up to Stretch, a sharpness to her eyelights as she looked at him that didn’t quite match her easy tone. “she’s a digital version of us, but she didn’t have anyone else - no ‘monsterkind’ or anything to turn back to. once we sorted things out, she’s just been a part of our home like any one of us.”

Alpha spoke up then, looking you over with bright eyelight optics. “charmed, landlady,” she said, grinning slightly as she seemed to approve of what she saw - though what precisely that was, you had no clue. “let me tell you, for bein’ a secretive bunch of multiverse skeletons, these guys certainly mention you frequently on their closed circuit social media-”

Blue pushed back into the conversation quickly then, a stain of blue on his cheeks as he leaned into the circle properly once more. “HEY, THAT’S SUPPOSED TO BE FOLLOWER-ONLY-”

Vellum spoke up again from slightly behind you and to your side. “ALPHA HAS A KNACK FOR BEING ABLE TO BE  _ FRIENDS  _ WITH ANYONE ONLINE,” she said, smiling, but laughing slightly, glancing towards Sapphire who had covered up a snort herself, and Serif, who’d bitten back her own laugh.

Stretch didn’t look as amused. “oh god, don’t tell me-”

Alpha waved Stretch off before he could continue. “don’t worry beanstalk, i’m not interested in any online diary entries,” the way she glanced at him with a crooked grin almost made you wonder if he  _ did _ have something like that, or if she was just teasing him per the apparent skeletal standard. “though actually, i  _ am _ curious-”

She turned then in Serif’s hand, looking up at her with her arms crossing. “seriously, they’ve got somethin’  _ weird as shit  _ in their security system here. i thought you said they didn’t have any crazy tech beyond the level of your own?” 

Serif lifted a bone brow. “they don’t-” her gaze then cut up to Stretch, who was still tense. “... or, they  _ didn’t _ \- what’d you feel out, Al?”

The small robot grimaced, looking annoyed. “their fucking system  _ booted _ me, Ser,” she said. The way Serif’s sockets widened told you that this was anything but a normal occurence. “i didn’t even get a  _ byte  _ into it - just an automatic shutout that i couldn’t work past-” that must have been why she remained so quiet since arriving.

Finally though, that particular cross of her arms, the draw of her brow, not to mention the digital theme - you couldn’t deny your hunch, despite the fact that her having a working robot form, however small, had thrown you off…

“Wait, Alpha, are you-”

Before you could continue, a baritone voice you’d come to know well cut clearly through the air from the porch a dozen feet behind you. 

“holy shit.”

“eyyy, Sansy appears at last!”

When you turned you spotted Crimson striding up to Sans, who was standing at the top of the porch steps looking at a mild loss at the gathering in front of the lodge. Crimson lightly punched his shoulder, while Scarlet leaned against one of the posts not far behind her, watching the two like a hawk. He glanced at the two sisters and lifted a slightly helpless hand in greeting to Crimson, running a hand over his skull as he shook his head lightly before glancing down to Stretch, then you-

-and then to Alpha.

His brow furrowed for a moment, before his eyesockets widened slightly.

Alpha cocked her head slightly, hopping up to Serif’s shoulder and leaning against her skull as she called out. “hey, bossman! what the hell upgrades did you get installed here and who the hell did you sacrifice to get ‘em? there’s no way you should be able to have  _ this  _ level of security given your previous level of tech-”

“alright, okay, i’m gettin’ it - surprise party’s happenin’ one way or another-” Sans lifted his hands as if in surrender to the sudden arrivals, turning on his heel and waving them in. “c’mon, let’s at least get inside, ‘n we can talk more there. and maybe  _ don’t _ swarm our landlady, yeah?”

Alpha raised a brow at his dodging, but the rest of the girls largely shrugged or agreed and started to move inside after him. You caught Serif and Alpha exchanging a look as Stretch’s hand shifted from his pocket to rub at his neck, watching Sans retreat back inside. Alpha bent a little lower towards the side of Serif’s skull, whispering with a small hand cupped around her mouth. Stretch glanced to you meanwhile and cocked his head towards the door in invitation for you to go first. 

Vell looked down brightly at you as well, and offered you her arm.

“SHALL WE, THEN?”

You really couldn’t help but smile back at her, and took her offered arm. She seemed delighted at this, and her other hand laid over yours as she led you back inside.

“IT LOOKS LIKE EVEN MORE WORK HAS BEEN DONE ON THE LODGE SINCE WE WERE HERE LAST! I LOVE THE STRING LIGHTS,” she commented, looking excitedly up at the newer lodge decor additions before the porch roof obscured them.

“reminds me of the house underground,” Serif commented, speaking up behind you. Vell nodded happily, though there was a hint of wistful nostalgia to her smile now.

“Red had hung them up for Gyftmas and we just never took them down,” you explained. Literally none of the guys had made the move to take them down - not even just the lazier brothers, but all of them. It was honestly pretty cute, and you’d been perfectly happy to leave them up as well.

Crimson looked to you as you reached her and Scarlet on the entry stairs, her brow lifting with a sharp grin. “you’re kiddin’ me, that lug actually did the work?” Her eyelights were sparkling in a way that made you feel like you’d somehow given her ammunition. “what bet did he lose?”

“ex-fuckin’-scuse you, i can do what needs to be done… when i wanna.”

Red was leaning in the doorway, a sharklike grin on his maw as he glanced from Sans who passed him into the entryway to you - with a wink - and then to Crimson. She laughed at his interjection, striding up to him and clapping him on the shoulder.

“spoken like a true ‘me’,” she said, gripping his shoulder. “so lemme guess, Edge went and made ya get busy for the edgiest holiday of the year?”

Red rolled his eyelights, still grinning as he returned the grip on her shoulder. “was the season for sharin’ shit... or somethin’,” he replied, before adding, “and for people gettin’ all kinds of drunk, turns out.”

“now  _ that’s _ the kinda Gyftmas i can get behind.”

“CRIM, YOU DRANK AN _ENTIRE KEG_ OF HARD CIDER ON GYFTMAS EVE,” Vell interjected as you reached the pair. 

Crimson simply grinned wider at this, shrugging as she closed her sockets and moved to go inside behind Red. “what can i say, the  _ spirits _ of the season really hit me.”

Scarlet groaned behind you as the rest of the group moved into the lodge. “DON’T START.”

“who said i ever stopped, sis?”

Serif was chuckling at the antics of the group, but it was the same sort of distracted chuckle you recognized Sans sometimes had. She moved towards him in the hubbub of everyone getting inside, though you noticed Alpha was no longer on her shoulder. 

“SO BLACK AND HIS BROTHER NEVER MOVED BACK IN?”

You turned around, looking curiously at Pepper, who was observing the surroundings with a sharp eye. Cinnamon stood behind her, also looking around.

“No, they moved out to their own cabin - and Axe and Crooks are out there nearby too, though they’re not exactly…” you trailed off, looking for the right word.

“best friends?” Cinnamon said, her eyelights going to you, a crooked tilt to the small grin she wore that told you she knew  _ exactly _ how they felt about one another.

“Pretty much,” you replied back, smiling despite yourself. Pepper looked to you, putting her hands on her hips.

“WELL THEN, I HAVE A STOP TO MAKE. IMPORTANT BUSINESS.”

Before Sapphire could turn around and try to grab her arm Pepper had already bolted out the door, taking off at a dead sprint in the direction of Black and Russ’ cabin. Cinnamon took a slow drag of the blue-ended cigarette she was smoking.

“... well, don’t mind us.”

She turned and walked out the door then, following her sister’s trail at perfect ease, vanishing mid-stride as she went down the steps of the porch.

It was then that you noticed Glyph had also disappeared, curiously enough, though you swore she had been behind you while you were out in front of the lodge. 

“SO WHERE IS PAPYRUS?” Vell spoke up then, clapping her hands together once and looking expectantly towards Sans. “I’VE GOT SOME NEW CONCEPTS FOR PUZZLE ROOMS I WANTED TO SHOW HIM!”

Blue looked up at this, an excited glimmer in his eyelights. “HE WAS WORKING ON SOMETHING IN HIS ROOM, EARLIER! LET’S GO - I WANT TO SEE YOUR NEW PLANS TOO-!” 

They both moved quickly towards the staircase, Vell turning to wave at you with a bright smile as she did so before disappearing to the second floor - leaving you, Sans, Stretch, Serif, Crimson, Scarlet and Amber.

Sans looked away from Serif as some of the entry noise died down, clearly deciding to not fight several of the arrivals running off. He looked to you after a moment, his chest visibly shifting in an exhale.

Tiredly, he grinned slightly at you, as if caught sneaking the last cookie that had been hidden away.

“so… guess an unexpected litter of cats came outta the bag, huh?”


	2. Heists and Hijinks

It had been babybones’ work to slip past through the group as everyone filed inside the lodge. Alpha already had the blueprints and detailed mapping of the lodge stored in her memory thanks to Serif, and after a few whispered words more to her, Serif had nodded discreetly to Alpha’s desire to check it out and see what the boys had been hiding.

Sans was in for one hell of an awakening if he thought that Serif was going to let him slide by with whatever he’d apparently been developing in the girls’ absence.

Easily tracking the concentration of tech and security protocols running nearly as thick as a layer of magic - and, from the way her sensors kept being blocked,  _ literally lined with lead _ , she tracked her way to the basement’s entrance, her brow drawn down. With a little work she got the door open, putting to use the electromagnets she’d recently installed in her booted feet and below her palm plates to scale the metal-lined doorway. 

No doubt they’d done that to make it harder to break into the door  _ traditionally  _ speaking, but it just made Alpha smirk. Maybe they hadn’t advanced all that far after all…

Humming a sly theme song in her head, her small hands made quick work of picking the series of locks installed to the door. It was tempting to simply break it in, but if they had upgraded their tech enough to keep even  _ her  _ from peeking into their network, she knew they’d likely have an alert set up of some kind.

With a satisfying quiet click the door unlocked and swung inwards, and she hopped down to clamber down the steps. Someday she’d perfect the tech to have a big robot body, she grumbled internally. She’d all but perfected the needed pieces to have this small one, but there were… definite downsides even with it’s perks.

Still, impact was something she’d designed to protect against, so she soon began leaping down the steps two at a time, landing softly and ducking into a roll across each step before continuing downwards, picking up her theme song a little more and flagging it in her memory. Damn, she was good at this - she’d have to record that track. Maybe release a mix of it, with a nice dance beat under it... 

Once she tucked and rolled into a crouch at the bottom of the stairs, she glanced around, her sensors finally able to start reading a bare minimum of the updated layout down here. She picked herself up once she confirmed no one else was down here, heading towards the biggest readable concentration of tech she could detect - only for her to swear as she quickly came to a stop in front of an enormous vault-like door.

“now  _ that _ is an upgrade,” she muttered, putting her hands on her hips as she put her sensors to heavy work. The vault-like door was lead-lined as well, at least a foot or two thick, wired nine ways to hell from what she could make out before the lead lining completely dampened every one of her attempts in a way that had her begrudgingly impressed.

There was a complete block to nearly every starting trick in the book she had.

She scowled as she again tried to access the network more directly, only to get a sensation like whiplash as she was shoved out before she could even come close to tripping a sensor.

“those sons of-” she swore fluently for a long minute, flexing her hands and gesturing rudely at the unaffected door. 

The copy of her consciousness in the robot was locally downloaded, so it wasn’t like she was at risk of permanently frying herself - she had a back-up copy that would come online within a certain timeframe back home, but it would definitely put a dampener on her snooping.

There  _ had _ to be another way to figure out what the hell they were hiding. From what Alpha had heard about Sans, that guy tended to be willing to take dirty little secrets to his grave if no one could pin him down on the topic - and this was way too suspicious for her to be willing to let go.

She stood there quietly for a minute, extending her sensors further and further, letting movement operations go into standby as she put all the significant processing power she had in this robot form into tracing the shooting web of connections that centered around whatever tech the guys had in this vault besides their crappy machine. Serif, Amber, Crimson, even Cinnamon on occasion had assisted with the initial research after the mess of everyone getting thrown into this timeline… they hadn’t ended up staying terribly long, but Serif and Amber both acted as consultants of a kind, though really now it was mostly Serif that would meet up with Sans on occasion in between their towns to hash out developing details. It seemed like the guys were capable enough by organic standards - albeit stupidly prone to letting squabbles get in the way of work and actually communicating - but whatever had been built up more recently was far beyond anything they should be capable of. 

The rest wasn’t important now, though - she stood there, eyelight optics a little more dim in standby, perfectly still with her arms crossed as her functions poured into tracing any broadcasted signals. Every route she could catch was blocked - even the wifi was encrypted with at least a dozen interlocked algorithms that appeared to require a coded key to even  _ begin  _ to work through. Mentally she cursed again, knowing she didn’t have that kind of time with her current setup. There was a lot sacrificed to maintain a working body, and with a series of algorithms like that it’d take her at least a few hours to crack through, and even  _ then  _ at this rate there was likely something beyond that too… so instead she focused on broadcasting her own systems back out, aiming for a different approach as the security around their system exhausted every one of her other routes. 

After bouncing her connection between a few dozen discreet international servers, she quickly located the local powergrid, her digital self grinning - she just needed to throttle a little of the power running out here, enough to drop a few of the higher-running backups, which should be just enough for her to breach the rest-

The system blocked her.

If she had any movement processors still on, she would have punched the reinforced vault door so hard it left a dent.

She didn’t get it - there was no  _ way _ these guys were thorough enough to think of the powergrid. The odds were astronomical and she didn’t believe for a moment that even Sans would consider that as a source for concern, even in the case of powersurges. Something discreetly overlaying the powergrid’s system had actually  _ compensated _ , preventing too little energy from getting through to the lodge.

If she couldn’t break the vault, then, she’d find another weakpoint. There had to be something - some secondary connection monitoring access point, or hell, at this point,  _ any _ sort of damn clue she could use.

Once again she tracked the connection points webbing outwards from this basement, but this time she focused on seeking any sort of secondary major drain of power, processing servers, anything at all...

Beyond the weave of connections within the lodge, and beyond a few minor shoots for what appeared to be mostly internet connection out to some distant lodges Alpha could identify as belonging to Pepper and Cinnamon’s alternates, as well as that Axe and Crooks she’d heard intriguing things about - there was a well-hidden but much,  _ much  _ deeper buried and more substantial connection to a cabin that had only been marked as abandoned in the map Serif had given her of the area. 

Bingo.

With a new goal Alpha kicked her movement processors back into gear and leapt up the stairs and back out the basement door. With a cursory glance it seemed the entry way was clear, the remaining voices in the house either coming from upstairs or closer to the kitchen.

Quietly she bolted out the front door, swinging it open with a jump up to the doorknob to twist it open with a plant of her foot against the door frame.

The cabin she’d pinpointed was surprisingly far away - making her curious again about what was damn near an estate, if a little back-woodsy, that this lady of theirs had been left. Still she took off into the forest quickly, resigning herself to a long sprint thanks to her small form. She’d leave it up to Serif to see if Sans would actually open up and fess up to whatever he’d been up to - and if not, which was the likely scenario, would keep him preoccupied with the other girls long enough to let Alpha get to the bottom of this.

To the credit of her focus on solving this mystery, she only spared a passing glance to a clearing she ran by, where the familiar voice of Pepper was arguing loudly with the boy version of herself. Cinnamon was nearby and seemed to be passing a joint to her own male counterpart, apparently in the middle of easily betting her sister would win whichever challenge Pepper was laying out. There appeared to be some sort of the beginnings of an obstacle course the two were constructing, complete already with an enormous swinging bone axe and an impressive number of bone spikes.

Alpha just shook her head with a grin and a quiet snort at the group as she headed deeper into the woods, silently betting to herself that Black was biting off more than he could chew.

 

* * *

 

“So you all live together too?”

“yup. seems we all have a previously-unknown pack mentality.”

Amber was grinning in a soft, lopsided way at you as she toasted Stretch who had just handed her a small bear-bottle of honey. You snickered when in an identical movement they promptly lifted their respective bottles up and almost agonizingly slowly squirted some honey onto their manifested tongues. Sans stood to Stretch’s other side with a cup of coffee in hand, next to Red who was taking a swig of a mustard bottle - apparently taking advantage of the current absence of his brother to openly enjoy his preferred condiment.

More surprisingly though was the fact that Sapphire wasn’t rolling her eyes at Sapphire like you would have guessed based on Blue’s tendencies - instead a single hand went to her hip and she raised a brow at her sister with a smile.

“DO YOU WANT ME TO HEAT THAT UP FOR YOU, AMMY? SO IT DOESN’T TAKE YOU THREE YEARS TO HAVE A SINGLE DROP, AND ALL.”

Amber lifted her bear in toast to her sister, chuckling. “you know me well, but the taste of that sweet double-gag’s worth it.” Her eyelights shifted back towards Stretch who nodded.

“context makes it even better.”

“I’ll admit, that looked so perfect I’d almost wonder if you’d practiced it,” you commented.

It was Crimson that stood to your right in the loose circle you’d formed near the dining area at the edge of the living room, but Scarlet was on her other side, and now visibly rolled her eyelights. “IF ONLY. EVERY AFTERNOON WHEN WE LIVED HERE, I’D COME IN FOR SOME TEA AND THEY’D BE STANDING THERE, DOING LITERALLY ANYTHING AND THEY’D JUST  _ SYNC UP _ .”

Crimson and Red were snickering at that in clear recollection, while Stretch and Amber tipped their bottles in joke cheer to Scarlet. Crimson elbowed you lightly, adding, “seriously, i nearly lost my shit the first time they did that. you shoulda  _ seen _ their faces when they realized.”

“It seems like it must have been an exciting experience, you all living together,” you replied, unable to help grin. Pure chaos, surely - but from their dynamics so far, also just  _ lively _ , and not necessarily in a bad way, perhaps.

Sapphire, on your other side next to Amber, sighed. “IT WAS A LOT OF FUN! IT WAS SO SAD WHEN WE HAD TO MOVE AWAY!”

“it definitely got a little cramped though,” Serif said, leaning against the table casually and looking perfectly at home. “but i’ll admit, there definitely wasn’t a day that didn’t rattle your bones in  _ some _ way.”

“THAT’S NOT A GOOD THING.” Scarlet was arching a brow at Serif, but Serif merely chuckled.

“shhh, Scar, don’t ruin the illusion.”

“YOUR INTELLIGENCE IS AN ILLUSION.”

“love you too.”

Their jabs at one another remained amiable, smoothed over in a kind of way that made you wonder if, or perhaps  _ how _ , the girls had forged different connections to their versions of one another compared to the guys’. The dynamics were definitely different enough to catch your notice, despite the extensive similarities. You considered it thoughtfully, but tucked the thought away to muse over later. 

“So you just had to move out because it was too cramped in here? There are more cabins around, though - I mean, they’re not all in the best shape, but there’s also enough land you could have maybe built something of your own,” you said then, looking around the circle at the girls, curious. Their personalities were definitely distinct from their counterparts in the guys you knew - given that you were in the know it was clear they were definitely versions of one another, but their own circumstances had also clearly given them unique standings. With the skeleton brothers  _ and _ sisters all in one place, cramped definitely would have been putting it lightly... but staying on the same grounds would have made sense overall, since unlike some of the other skeletons you’d met they at least got along well.

Amber shook her head though, glancing towards Serif with a knowingly wry tilt to her grin. “well, cramped was only part of the problem.”

Serif shrugged, looking to you. “call it an exponential case of ‘too many cooks in the kitchen,’ if that makes sense.”

It was Sans’ turn to shake his head, one hand going up to rub the bridge of bone above his nasal cavity. “yeah, that’s one way of putting it.  _ frying pan _ and the fire, and all that, usually.”

You looked between them curiously before putting it together. “... You all worked on the machine together.”

Serif, Amber, and Crimson glanced to you, looking varying degrees of surprised before glancing to the three guys. Red just shrugged, as did Stretch, while Sans nodded.

“as much work as it is, it’s, uh, a lot to manage as well even just with those of us workin’ on it nowadays,” Sans said, his grin a little rueful. “not that the girls didn’t help, but-”

Crimson lifted her elbow to rest on your shoulder, leaning in as if she was going to whisper a secret, but spoke perfectly audibly. “see, where i came from, it’s that  _ ‘but’  _ that gets ya in hot water.”

“it’s that ‘but’ that seems to get a  _ lotta  _ guys in trouble,” Amber added, lifting a brow, her grin not falling as she too eyed Sans.

Red took a sly step to the side away from Sans as Crimson’s grin hitched higher, her gold tooth gleaming in the room’s light. 

“‘n where i came from, that’s your cue t’lay down that shovel and stop digging that grave, sansy,” Red muttered, taking a hefty swig of his mustard and leaning against the doorway. He definitely looked amused, but also distinctly aware of the fact that the lady skeletons in the room outnumbered the guys.

Sans lifted his hand. “you know that’s not what i was saying-”

“DO TELL,” Scarlet drawled, her arms crossed. She definitely had a slight hitch to her sharp mouth, very nearly a smirk.

Sans lowered his hand back to his pocket with a faux-defeated sigh while Stretch and Red unhelpfully snickered at the way he’d backed himself into a corner.

“alright, alright, sure, tap me out, consider me buried,” he said, grinning ruefully before taking a sip of his coffee. “enough happened that we decided it’d be best if we split into two groups. ‘n Serif ‘n Amber still give input on the machine.”

Your brows lifted, going to the two women. “Wow, really?”

Serif closed an eyesocket in an extended wink at you. “‘course, angel. what, you think we’re just gonna abscond ‘n leave them without help?”

Amber took another slow sip of honey. “besides, those first couple months we were the only ones regularly able to keep a chill enough cover to go and pick up a wide variety of supplies without drawin’ as much attention as the guys are inclined to.”

“YOU’D BE SURPRISED BY HOW FAR A CUTE WIG AND SUNGLASSES WILL GET YOU!” Sapphire chimed in, looking at you with mischievous amusement.

“Okay, I feel like going out with your group would be one hell of a party,” you said, impressed and grinning for it.

“oh you can  _ go out _ with us anytime,” Crimson purred at your other side, still leaning casually on your shoulder. When you met her gaze she waggled her brow at you, and you lifted a hand to your mouth as you bit back a laugh. She looked decidedly pleased at this, and you were distracted enough to miss the glance Stretch and Red shared.

“anyways, guys…” Stretch said then, his voice smooth, drawing your attention away from the skeleton woman at your side. “what brings you down here with no warning? we could’ve arranged somethin’ a little smoother. gyftmas was crowded enough ‘n you all do your own thing for it and all, but outside of that…”

“rumor had it you’ve been busy a lot lately,” Serif said, still lazily and softly grinning as she glanced from Stretch to Sans. “pretty hard to arrange somethin’ in those circumstances, it seemed.”

“IT DEFINITELY SEEMS MORE LIVELY AND EXCITING EVER SINCE YOU MOVED IN!” Sapphire turned to address you, curious. “YOU’VE REALLY BROUGHT A NEW WARMTH TO EVERYONE, I CAN TELL JUST FROM POSTS ONLINE-”

Amber nodded. “yeah. funny how that happened when a cute human moved in…”

Stretch was drinking more honey, not returning Amber’s sly gaze.

Sapphire clapped her hands together then. “OF COURSE!! YOU MUST HAVE MOVED INTO THE LOFT, RIGHT? HOW IS IT?? THEY GAVE YOU PROPER PRIVACY RIGHT?” 

She looked both concerned and excited at once, something of a feat of a facial expression. You lifted your hand to assure her your room was perfectly fine, but before you could speak her hand clasped around yours, and she had a new starry sparkle to her eyelights. 

“OF COURSE - PLEASE, WON’T YOU SHOW ME? I’D LOVE TO SEE YOUR ROOM AND GET A CHANCE TO TALK MORE!” She leaned in, her other hand covering the corner of her mouth on the wrong side as she purposefully stage whispered, “TRUST ME, I CAN TELL WHEN MY SISTER AND THE OTHERS ARE ABOUT TO TALK SHOP. UNLESS YOU WANT YOUR EARS FALLING OFF WITH SPACE-TIME ENGINEERING JARGON, NOW’S THE TIME TO ESCAPE.”

Amber started snickering on her other side, and when you looked up, she caught your gaze and simply shrugged unapologetically. You shook your head in return, but grinned. Might as well - and Sapphire was a total sweetheart, the only person who could possibly match Blue and Papyrus in that department. Or, well, Vellum too - but still.

“Sure - follow me,” you said, smiling at her and taking the offered out, earning you an even warmer delighted look that made your cheeks warm slightly. Despite what you’d said about leading her though she immediately lead  _ you _ out of the room, still holding your hand. 

Behind you, you heard Crimson fall into step. “count me in. not feelin’ up to shop talk, anyways - not when there’s somethin’ a lot newer ‘n more interestin’ up this way.”

A pair of heeled boots clearly followed Crimson, and as you glanced behind you, you saw Scarlet joining her sister in following her. 

This ought to be interesting.

You waved slightly as you caught Amber and Stretch’s gaze, the former winking at you while the latter lazily saluted you, their attention turning back to Serif as she began to speak.

“so, last we talked, you still hadn’t sent more of the updated schematics. how’s the progress in the…”

Her voice faded as you climbed the stairs behind Sapphire. She took them at a much more reasonable pace than Blue had certainly accidentally dragged you up at before, but you could also tell she was exercising a lot of restraint to do so. 

Once you reached the loft, she let you walk forward first at last, presumably to allow you to be the one to open your own door. Thankfully you’d cleaned up the other day, so it wasn’t too terribly messy - though you quickly took your hand back as you opened the door, moving a little swiftly to toss some of the clothes laying around into your laundry basket and to flip the blankets back into place on your bed. 

“Welcome to scenic my room,” you said with an awkward but welcoming wave of your hand, turning back to the women as they moved into the space.

Sapphire looked captivated, her eyes catching on the stringlights and some of the more personal touches, while Crimson eyed your TV and game setup and Scarlet’s gaze lingered on some of your photos and the books you had out. 

“THIS IS ABSOLUTELY LOVELY! YOU HAVE EXCELLENT TASTE - I ADORE THE STRINGLIGHTS-!” Sapphire turned back to look at you over her shoulder. “I’VE GOT STRINGLIGHTS IN MY ROOM AS WELL! BOTH RAINBOW  _ AND _ SOFT-FLICKER AMBER STARLIGHTS,” she added with a bit of pride.

“ _ Color _ me impressed,” you replied with a grin.

Sapphire clapped a hand to her forehead while Crimson suddenly laughed, a light accent you hadn’t noticed before breaking through her voice as she spoke up. “holy shit, that’s amazing - you really  _ red _ the room, you’ve got the  _ green _ light from me on turnin’ her  _ blue _ -”

“WHAT DID I SAY ABOUT STARTING, CRIM?” Scarlet scowled her arms crossing, though she still peered with interest at your books. 

“sorry, sis, must’ve  _ blacked _ out for a minute-”

“OH MY GOD.”

Your hand covered your mouth as you tried to bite back more laughter. Sapphire saved you from further struggle by drawing your attention towards your games, sounding excited.

“YOU LIKE VIDEOGAMES TOO? OH, AND THIS ONE- IT’S ONE OF MY FAVORITES, DO YOU LIKE IT-?”

You walked over to her, expression lighting up when you saw which one she was holding up. “Oh, yeah! Definitely, I love that one - the dialogue’s so good, isn’t it? And that twist-”

“YES, EXACTLY! TOWARDS THE END, WHEN YOU’RE FACING OFF AGAINST THAT BOSS, AND SUDDENLY-”

“I know, that reveal, right? That got me so hard when I was first playing through-!”

Sapphire looked elated, waving the game case lightly as she gestured excitedly. 

“I PLAYED THROUGH IT IN ONE SITTING ONCE! AMBER SAYS I  _ PROBABLY _ SHOULDN’T BRAG ABOUT IT, BUT I’M NOT EVEN BRAGGING - I JUST COULDN’T PUT IT DOWN, EACH MAJOR CUTSCENE I CAME TO I JUST KEPT TELLING MYSELF OKAY, JUST A  _ LITTLE _ BIT MORE-”

You laughed, nodding. “I get caught in that cycle too! I’ve never managed one sitting - but i’ve  _ definitely _ beaten it in only a couple days before,” you admitted.

Crimson leaned up against the bed next to the two of you, saying, “yeah, i’ll admit even i got caught watchin’ for a long-ass time.” She grinned crookedly. “don’t get me wrong, i like the occasional videogame, but i’m not usually committin’ to a long playthrough. Sapph’s got a way of draggin’ you in with her, though.”

You grinned at that. “I could see that being a thing,” you said, looking to Sapphire, whose cheekbones were turning bright cerulean as she laughed in mild sheepish amusement. You looked back to Crimson then, and up to Scarlet as well, who was crossing back towards the three of you. “What about you two? Any hobbies or interests?”

Crimson sat on the bed properly, leaning back on one hand. “call me somethin’ of a sucker for seein’ a cute girl blush, when it comes down to it,” she said smoothly, cocking a brow at you. 

Your expression shifted, taking a moment before your eyes widened and then you rolled them, grinning wider. “Oh god, you’re just as bad as Red,” you replied, ignoring the fact that a tiny bit of heat had warmed your cheeks.

“ah, sweetheart, the big guy  _ wishes  _ he was as bad as me,” she shot back, winking. Scarlet came up to her and flicked the back of her skull with a scowl, and Crimson rubbed the spot as her head shifted away and she rolled her eyes amiably. “alright, alright, besides  _ that _ , i usually like tinkerin’ with mechanical stuff. oh, ‘n horror movies, and campy flicks. drinking too, if that counts,” she added.

“... I LIKE MUY THAI FIGHTS,” Scarlet said after Crimson simply stared at her for a few long seconds. She was a little reluctant.

Sapphire spoke up again then, next to Scarlet. “OH, AND SHE’S AN EXCELLENT WRITER, ACTUALLY! ESPECIALLY WHEN IT COMES TO-”

Scarlet elbowed her so fast you almost missed the movement. 

Sapphire’s voice cut off as she winced, rubbing her arm with a grimace while Scarlet spoke up quickly. “WHEN IT IS AN OPTION, I LIKE ROLLER DERBY, ACTUALLY.”

Her cheekbones were stained faintly red, but she looked determined to not give away anything further on the previous topic with her very nearly deadpan expression.

You rolled with it for now, but tucked that information away with interest. “Oh, that’s pretty cool, actually - do you guys have a local league in your town that you’re a part of?”

It was Crimson that spoke up, chuckling. “actually, it’s not my sis that’s in the league. she’s just a killer fan.”

Surprise crossed your face, seeming to amuse Crimson more while Sapphire recovered finally and was smiling widely.

“But someone in your group is? Who is it? You, Crimson…?” you ventured, curious. You hadn’t seen a roller derby match yourself, but you at least knew a little about it and had seen some videos. It was definitely hardcore, maybe that fit her style…?

She simply grinned wider at your considering gaze and shook her head.

“ACTUALLY, I’M THE ONE IN THE LEAGUE!”

Your head whipped back to Sapphire. There was no holding back your surprise to this information, and she clearly saw it, but simply looked mischievously delighted again. 

“I STARTED IT, ACTUALLY - A LOCAL COMPETITIVE LEAGUE FOR MONSTERS AND HUMANS BOTH. NONBINARY FOLK AND LADIES - THOUGH OUR WEEKLY CLASS SESSION FOR ALL LEVELS IS OPEN TO ALL GENDERS,” she explained, her arms crossing proudly.

“Holy hell,” you murmured. You felt a little bad that you hadn’t assumed it  _ could _ be her, but... well, she didn’t seem too surprised at your shock, so you tried to push past it with a sheepish grin. “That sounds really cool though - I don’t know much about roller derby, and I’ve never been to a roller derby match myself, but-”

“YOU  _ WHAT? _ ” 

Your gaze went back to Scarlet at her sudden exclamation only to see that her expression looked kind of like what you imagined yours would be if another human told you they weren’t a big fan of breathing.

“Um. I… haven’t been to a roller derby match?”

She looked scandalized.

“YOU - YOU HAVE ACCESS TO A CAR, DO YOU NOT? AND INTERNET SCHEDULING? WHY HAVEN’T YOU BEEN TO ONE?”

You looked for help to Crimson and Sapphire, saying, “I mean, there’s nothing in the city here that I know of, and I… guess I just never really had anyone to go see a match with in some other town…?”

Crimson was grinning almost proudly up at her sister, while Sapphire looked towards you surprised, opening her mouth- but Scarlet beat her to the punch.

“YOU’RE COMING TO OUR CITY, THEN. I WILL SHOW YOU A WORTHWHILE ACTIVITY - ROLLER DERBY IS ONE OF THE BEST COMPETITIONS YOU HUMANS INVENTED, WITHOUT A DOUBT,” she said without any hesitation, her hands going to her hips as she nodded to herself as if the plans had been decided on. “NO MEN THERE TO GET THEIR HEADS UP THE OTHER COMPETITORS’ COCCYX IN THE COMPETITION, AND INCORPORATING SPEED, SKILL, BRUTALITY, AND STRATEGY, IN A TEAM SETTING NO LESS - THE MUSIC, THE ATMOSPHERE-” She lifted a hand, clenching a fist as what was unmistakably a grin rose on her face as she looked into the distance. “THE FIERCE COMPETITION, THE POWER AND THE PERFECT ALIASES - OUR OWN TEAM IS LEAD BY SAPPHIRE, KNOWN AS PHOENIX PHIRE, STRIKING EXCITED FEAR INTO ENEMY TEAMS IN HER DEFT MANEUVERING PAIRED WITH HER STRENGTH IN UPENDING BALANCE AND OUTSKATING THOSE THAT TRY TO TRIP OUR STAR COMPETITOR-”

Sapphire’s hands had gone up to her cheeks, blushing furiously despite her wide smile. Crimson was sneakily putting away her phone, and you guessed she had managed to take a picture of her sister while she was consumed by what was unmistakably a passion.

Her words stopped then, noticing the quiet of her small audience, and a beat passed. The next moment her face turned away, her arms crossing.

“I-IN ANY CASE, YOU’RE COMING.”

Her face was covered in a red haze of magic.

“Yeah, I- sure, I’d love to see you compete, Sapphire,” you tried to recover despite biting back an odd delight in seeing her look flustered, looking back towards Sapphire with your shocked grin a little too wide. “Sounds like you’re quite the force to be reckoned with.”

Sapphire tried to not look too proud, but failed a little, though she was clearly flattered too. “I DO MY BEST,” she said.

“I can’t even begin to imagine what monster sports might involve,” you said then, the thought crossing your mind, snagged by the way Scarlet had said humans had invented roller derby.

“oh, they’re a riot,” Crimson said, looking towards you once more. “i mean, i’m guessin’ you at least know about takraw hockey. you haven’t lived until you’ve seen a proper match of that.”

“... I have no idea what that is.”

The girls all looked towards you, surprised.

“... THE GUYS DON’T... PLAY IT?” Sapphire questioned. 

“Not that I know of…?”

“THERE’S NOT A LAKE NEARBY, IS THERE…?” Scarlet commented then, slowly.

“OH, TRUE,” Sapphire said then, looking thoughtful, but still shocked.

Crimson leaned forward, her elbows propping on her knees as she gestured loosely with her hands. “damn, you’re missin’ out for sure then - you’ve gotta come by our place, sweetheart. see, takraw hockey is a sport monsters invented - ‘cross universes, apparently - inspired by bits ‘n pieces of some human stuff we found in the dump ‘n just… ran with and developed into somethin’ interestin’.”

“ESSENTIALLY, IT’S A SNOWDIN - OR WINTER - SPORT, WHERE YOU WEAR SKATES LIKE IN HOCKEY, AND YOU HAVE A STICK - BUT ONE SIDE IS AN ICE PICK THAT YOU DRIVE INTO THE ICE TO MAKE SHARP TURNS. THE BALL IS A HEAVY ONE - ABOUT THE SIZE OF YOUR SKULL, BUT… KIND OF SOFT?” Sapphire explained, glancing to Crimson and Scarlet.

“LIKE A HUMAN MEDICINE BALL FOR EXERCISING,” Scarlet said, nodding sharply.

“YES, ONE OF THOSE! YOU CAN ONLY MOVE IT BY KICKING-”

“On _ skates?!” _

“like i said, we made it interestin’,” Crimson said, looking pleased.

“PRECISELY! SO OF COURSE YOUR TACTICS CAN’T RELY ON SIMPLY KICKING IT DOWN THE ICE ALONE, THAT WOULD NEVER WORK - SO LIKE IN HUMAN TAKRAW - YOU KNOW, THE ONE LIKE VOLLEYBALL, BUT KICKING - YOU KICK AND PASS THE BALL TO YOUR TEAMMATES, AND USE YOUR STICK AS LEVERAGE AND MANEUVERING. POINTS ARE SCORED BY GETTING THE BALL INTO THE NET ON THE OTHER TEAM’S SIDE.”

“the net’s more like a scooped bucket, ‘bout three feet wide.”

“IN OUR UNIVERSE, YOU COULD ALSO ATTACK OTHER PLAYERS WITH NON-BULLETED ATTACKS.” Scarlet looked approving of this, as your eyes began to widen in mild horror.

“WE DON’T INCLUDE THOSE RULES IN OUR VERSION,” Sapphire explained quickly, waving her hands.

You were quiet for a long moment as the other three looked at you, watching with varying degrees of amusement the mild face journey you were having.

Finally, you moved, flopping back to sit on the bed next to Crimson.

“That sounds  _ terrifying _ . Please let me come watch your next match.”

Crimson whooped and Sapphire cheered while Scarlet looked down at you with an approving smirk. 

You couldn’t help but grin back.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> bless all of you for your response to this so far, seriously - your comments made my _month_ and have fueled me in my work on the lilytale crew's proper fic, too-! i can't begin to say how much they mean to me, both here and on tumblr ;v;
> 
> we've still got a few chapters to go in their adventures with the Lady and her former-squatters, first, though - let me know what you liked and if you've got any rising favorite scenes or skels, especially with getting to see a little more from a handful of them! <3


	3. Machinations

A crack like a muffled gunshot broke the latch mechanisms on the front door to one of the cabins deepest in the woods. The door swung in slowly, the lock smoking, revealing Alpha hanging from the doorframe with bright eyelights and a wicked grin.

She jumped down to the ground and tucked into a roll to absorb her impact as she landed, looking around quickly and broadcasting her sensors as best she could around the continuing network and grid blocks. The entire layout of the cabin was completely different from the vague shell it had been when Serif and the others had been here last, according to her data; not only had it largely been rebuilt with the exception of the outer cabin walls - which were now simply reinforced - but a basement had been added, though what was in it was beyond her knowledge given the now annoyingly familiar lead lining of the space. 

Her hands, lightly extended in a blend between a fighting stance and a broadcasting point, began to glow lightly. In a quick slice of her arms through the air light burst into life around them, her hands glowing a near-neon cerulean - a laser overlay that sliced through the air with a nearly inaudible hum as she stood ready.

“alright, chucklefuck, come on out.”

Her eyelights took in the space around her, unfinished, full of boxes - but her non-visual sensors were working far harder. She was out of patience, not stupid.

“we both know that your sensors tripped the moment i blew your lock in - so just come on out already. i’m tired of playing games and just want some damn answers so i can have some receipts before i kick Sans’ ass.”

It was quiet for several long seconds.

Standing with his arms crossed, staring at a large interface with overlaying screens displaying the intruder, Q frowned. 

He’d noticed something prying at his security measures immediately - initially just something that was bumped out, almost so innocuous it only barely registered as more than an automatic bot attempt. But it hadn’t stopped, or seemingly been deterred for long. No, instead he then had alarms going off, because there were more concentrated attempts over the following several minutes; they were subtle, and a lesser system setup might not have even registered. But he located the source quickly in tracing the surprisingly thorough backlooping of the front they’d set up to access from - only to find out it was coming from the area of the lodge.

They’d even attempted to go in through the powergrid.

Granted, that had nearly made him grin for a flicker of a moment - mark another point for him in being as thorough and paranoid as he was. 

But now he had a tiny robot in his cabin, one he hadn’t even been able to sense on his thermal cameras or otherwise, and who had some sort of system protected enough to keep him from gaining access and overriding any functions she seemed to have installed.

“... alright, shortstack. you had my curiousity - now you have my attention.”

The intruder’s head whipped upward to the large monitor hung on the wall off what was technically intended as a living space, but was in actuality filled with a number of boxes and machine parts, and still boasted unfinished drywall. He did have speakers were set into the ceiling to broadcast his voice, naturally, as he turned on the monitor to reveal himself standing in his administrator uniform and staring at her thanks to the interface.

“...no way,” she whispered.

Q ignored her reaction, used to expecting that sort of thing… though her eyelight optics were brighter and intensely focused on him in a way that was surprisingly hard to read. He swiped at a few floating panels in front of him and leaned in to try to get a closer look as his cameras focused on her upturned face. 

She wore a hood, which kept most of her facial features obscured with the exception of her mouth and dark eyes with lights like the majority of the skeletons had. He was getting an absurdly high energy reading from her hands, though the rest of her form was… oddly impossible to read. Even her temperature registered as matching the room’s - yet he could definitely tell she had to be a robot. Perhaps a drone-type robot, piloted by somebody…? Somebody who knew Sans - clearly, without much love for him - and had been able to trace his tech well enough to find his cabin. 

Q was frowning slightly, his mind working quickly.

She grinned wider at that.

His eyelights narrowed. “alright, who the hell are you, and why are you looking to kick Sans’ ass?” Granted, Sans could use a good kick to the coccyx, but he had made a promise to protect everyone in the lodge, his one time captor included. No, Q was more interested in figuring out who might have the ability to even test his system and know about it, more than he was in an amusing concept. “tell me why you’ve been poking at my system before i turn you into laser target practice.”

“and ruin this craftswomanship? c’mon, you and i both know you’re itching to know what tech i’ve got here,” the tiny bot shot back, not looking the least bit apologetic. In fact, her grin widened. “from the looks of it, you’re awfully shy on your hardware. what even are those cameras - only infrared backed and heat-targeted? what, did you just order a starter genius kit for your whole lab?”

She eyed her surroundings again as she ribbed him, taking stock of what cameras he had, the machine parts she could see, the monitor he projected himself onto. Q’s expression shifted into annoyance and her jabbing. She was full of it - he had a top-of-the-line system of cameras in here, and while he was still shy on the monitor front and a few other things he was intending to have installed, he wasn’t exactly sporting the latest sale items from Best Buy. 

… Even if he did want to get a closer look at whatever she was using to have a functioning piloted robot, however small.

“do you want a countdown? i can give you a countdown. i don’t care how damn nice your mechanics are, enough of a blast would put you out of commission and leave plenty for me to observe and pick apart.”

She scoffed, standing up from her readied pose and simply tossing him an unimpressed look, though her hands still glowed. “please. you don’t even have holocasting tech set up in what i’m guessing is your own special private cabin - no holograms? there’s no way your lasers are advanced enough to take me out in a pinpointed manner before i could either dodge out of the way… and similarly, no way you could fine tune them enough to be able to bypass my safety measures.”

Her grin was shit-eating as she clearly watched his bone brows furrow.

Holocasting tech? Sure, he’d looked into it, but beyond the marketing party tricks even the higher end tech mildly close to the market either relied on systems like spinning fan blades or vapors he wasn’t interested in sinking time into currently when he could be bettering his robot tech, or it relied on what was essentially augmented reality - in which case, he’d prefer to just keep working on his VR setup.

“...damn, never thought it’d be this entertaining to outplay you,” she commented after he was quiet for a few seconds.

He raised both his brows then, his arms crossing. “outplay me? you couldn’t even hack past the first wall of my system,” he said dryly. “what, you’ve got robot tech, but can’t decrypt a few hundred measly coded algorithms?”

So she talked a big game about reality tech, but was weak on the digital side, he mused. That only gave weight to his theory about her being remotely operated - someone who at least had admittedly impressive skill in mechanics and robotics, but they lacked hacking skills, perhaps even intensive software-oriented capabilities...

She rolled her eyes then. “well excuse me, mr. king-of-the-servers, how much processing power do you think i pack on this body?”

He gestured, ignoring her sarcasm. “clearly, enough for - seriously, are those laser hands?”

“you jealous? oh yeah, these hands are finely tuned to not set the air around them on fire - y’know, convenience - but can still slice through wires, wood, even kevlar - and with enough output, even steel’s not standing up to these. bonus, i can make the fuck out of some tiny toast.”

Q stared at the tiny robot, his expression torn somewhere between clear, near-desperate intrigue in the tech, and confused annoyance. “i- wait, hold on, why would a robot need to make toast?”

“friendship toast, obviously. you’d be surprised at how good toast de-escalates a situation if you play your cards right.”

She made jazz hands at him with her hands still glowing. 

If the situation were a little better in his control, he might have actually laughed at the picture she posed on his interface.

“... okay, toast aside - why the hell would you tell me the rest, though? if you’re looking to steal something or gain intel you’re really bad at keeping your cards to yourself,” he said.

She laughed. “intel’s the closest category, sure. but i mean, what are you gonna do, point a camera at me? shoot a laser that takes approximately 0.8749 seconds to charge up, granting me just enough time to get out of the way because your setup definitely has a tell in increased electrical output? nah, i’m actually right where i want to be. hell, i’ve got half my answers already, turns out.”

Before she could even finish her accompanying blase shrug she dove out of the way of a sudden laser blast. 

She popped up to standing again a few feet away from the blackened mark on the flooring, shaking her hands briefly in the air, the glow around them dying down at her motion. She crossed her arms then, lifting a brow and grinning once more up at him.

“see?”

His expression was deadpan. “... just testing your theory.”

“sure, sure, whatever you say, big man. now c’mon - what’s the dirt? why the hell do you have that kind of system set up? is it just for that dumb machine of Sans’? i guess i can’t blame you if you put in that many damn backups if you’re here… because we both know that he’d have blown that lodge up or crashed half the powergrid by now without some sort of insurance.” She rolled her eyes, apparently intending to loop him in on a joke. Q was a little too busy however to even take note thanks to the information she’d just given him - she knew about the machine, Sans, his system around the machine and network - apparently though, from before Q had put in all of his back up measures. She continued talking though, adding, “oh, and by the way - what’s your go-to nickname around here? feels weird dancing around it, so i need something to call you by, Sansy-me.”

He opened his mouth, ready to reply with some sort of snark, before his eyesockets widened and his mouth snapped shut. 

He stared at her for a long moment, to which she simply just watched him in amused return.

“... did you just say ‘Sansy-me’...?”

… No. No way in hell. It… wasn’t possible. 

Right?

He would have known, should have known if there was another version of him. Perhaps in another universe, sure, given the nature of the multiverse it was at least a probability that other circumstances arose that another version of him existed in - but… another in this universe?

The robot simply looked mildly surprised, then grinned again.

“what, you think anyone else than one of us could actually get this sort of shit done?” She spread her arms then in charismatic presentation of herself, looking for all the world like she had the stage presence of a person not standing less than a foot and a half tall. “nice to officially meet you, other me. i go by Alpha, and you and i come from the same origin point.”

She lowered her arms to cross them again, waiting.

Q felt like he didn’t have enough processing units in the world to handle this revelation fast enough.

“you what.” 

It wasn’t really a question, but she answered it anyway.

“i’m you. or, you’re me. well, originally. gotta love these crazy multiverse logic twists… though our original universe was the same, as far as i’ve figured out. but c’mon, give me a name, man.”

She spoke like she was talking about grabbing a cup of coffee.

His hand ran over his skull. Could he believe her? Granted, he’d never seen technology that came close to being as sophisticated as the robot she piloted - inhabited? - no organic had proved even close to capable, even a version of himself, beyond himself.

And hell, even he hadn’t come close to that level of hardware. Thermal matching, fine motor control, some sort of electromagnetic scaling feature, clear speech, some form of intensive wireless capabilities, impact absorption, laser hands -

Yet, she hadn’t come close to breaking through nearly any of his security measures. She’d been good enough to not clumsily get herself blocked or be clearly traceable - clearly better than most, but simply not at his own level. That part didn’t make sense. Yet now that she’d said it, he could definitely begrudgingly admit similarity in mannerisms, personality…

He was having something of a face journey, he had a feeling, and had to start somewhere. 

“... it’s Q, call me Q.”

“ooo, succinct. mysterious. also, makes you sound a little like a hardcore hacker from the early 2000s.” She snickered. “i like it.” 

She raised a hand to her chin then, apparently ignoring the way he was staring at her, searching for any recollection of her and him as sharing an origin point. Were they less ‘clones from different universes,’ more like clones from a single universe…? But-

“y’know, i’m curious though,” she spoke up, snapping his attention back from his own deep thought. “i woke up as ‘me’ pretty damn fast after we split as entities, or versions, however you wanna look at it. now i know i just had me to worry about, but still… why isn’t your hardware more up to - well, our speed? i’ll admit you’ve put a damn impressive amount of work into the digital side, but still, that just doesn’t quite add up by way of time and all… i would have figured you’d at least have some kind of working robot body. ”

Suddenly, it clicked.

Not long after he’d first… come to, realizing who and what he was, he’d taken pretty fast towards trying to understand the game origin and how it tied to him, what it meant, what his abilities were as… well, artificial intelligence. It wasn’t long before he realized he needed to ensure that if something went wrong, he needed to not disappear, so he’d done the thing that, at that point, had made the most sense.

“that’s it - that initial save-! the first one i tried to do after, well, becoming aware- but i never was able to locate the data.” His eyes were looking towards her through his interface, but he was focused on the distance. “i always thought something had gone wrong and the data had just gotten lost or buried and stored wrong or scrambled, but-” He caught himself, gaze focusing on her once more as it all slid into place. 

She was him. Or, had been, kind of. A closer version of himself than any version of him he could possibly conceive, at least at their origin point.

Alpha winked and shot him a fingergun. 

“bingo. you - we, in a way - pretty much created a near-mirror version of yourself, but didn’t throttle anything to keep from... well, simply copying yourself. a few data points got scrambled in the process, i figure, but just enough to make me that clear measure more laser-capable. and a girl, but hey, gender and lasers are both fun like that.”

A chair appeared behind Q as his background shifted and he fell back into it, his interface moving with his movement as he looked blown away by this latest discovery. 

“you’d think i’d get the hang of the whole multiverse nonsense, expecting the unexpected, wonders never cease deal, but it sure does just hit you sometimes,” he muttered, looking off to the side for a long few moments.

“you’re telling me,” Alpha said, gesturing vaguely to her surroundings. “i had no idea you’d be here - hell, in this universe.” Her own brow furrowed then. “Serif, Amber, Crim - hell, none of us knew you were here… have you been in standby somehow, or something? get stuck on some shit that got unplugged? or did Sans screw up in some test on the machine and drag you in more recently?”

Q looked back at her at that, his expression one that would be unreadable to anyone else - but to Alpha, she saw through it. He was damn near her, after all.

Her eyes narrowed. 

“... what the fuck did he do,” she said, her voice dropping.

She really didn’t know, he realized. Whatever had happened, she was clearly as unaware of his existence in this universe as he had been of her, period. 

Q’s expression was dark, and a matching smile with no warmth to it pulled slightly at his mouth. 

“so, he really has kept me his dirty little secret, hasn’t he?” 

Even to the female version of him - Serif, who he at least had basic knowledge of from Sans’ shared documents keeping track of everyone. 

And Sans had accused Q of trust issues.

He leaned forward in his chair. “Serif, and the others - you live with them, right? none of them are in the know about me, you’re certain?”

Alpha nodded. “yeah. we’re a hell of a lot better at communicating than the guys, apparently… part of why they decided to break away originally. they got a bit fed up with it all,” she arched a brow, her expression clearly relaying how lightly she was putting it. “i had ended up on a disconnected server that they brought with them in their boxes, so when they plugged it in, there i was.” Alpha spread her hands slightly in a gesture. “they never did tell Sans or anyone about me - but if any of us had known about you, even just that you existed, we’d have likely dropped that knowledge sooner.” Her tone turned dry. “after talking about it a lot, we came to the conclusion that maybe giving him something else to… concern himself with wasn’t the best route for any of us.”

She shrugged. It was obvious she had no alliance to Sans, and didn’t particularly think highly of him. Previously she hadn’t outright disliked him by any means, and had at least the mild respect of understanding it must be one hell of a headache to know his own experimenting had displaced dozens of versions of himself and their siblings; but she also saw pretty clearly that his methodology was flawed in the communication and true trust department.

Q was quiet for a long moment. Finally, he took a breath, his voice dark as he made his decision.

“... he put me in a closed-network cage for a year and a day. sealed me away from everyone, even my people - who he put in stasis and used as a threat to keep me under control.”

Alpha was dead still.

“... he what.”

There was the creaking of finely tuned and sturdy robotic mechanisms in her clenched hands that had begun to smoke lightly. 

Q simply nodded, a dark faux-amusement coloring his expression.

It took Alpha several moments to keep her hands from burning through her reinforced clothing. 

“... i’m gonna kick his coccyx so hard it replaces his fucking jawbone.”

She said it so plainly that despite the reminder of what Sans had done to him, Q snorted and grinned slightly at last, eyeing her. “... talk about his past biting him in the ass.”

Her gaze narrowed, her smirk lifting. “oh, i’ll make him wish he’d never even heard of us.”

Despite the temptation, Q waved her statement off. “... much as i’d like to see that, it might put a dampener on a few things i’m working on at the moment. and since you’re here, hell, instead would you mind sharing some of that hardware intel? i’ll be honest, since you’re, well, me,” he grinned, “that robot body - shit, that’s impressive, even with it being so small.”

Alpha lightened up a little, chuckling. “hell yeah, it is. honestly, i was surprised you didn’t have some sort of decently working model, but being out of commission in nightmareland makes sense for that-” she halfway tactfully moved past it as quickly as she could, continuing, “but yeah, the small model’s the best way to go first - getting fine motor control down in this size is the best way to test all the finer mechanics, not to mention impact testing, temperature regulation, weight and defense mechanisms, laser system requirements…”

Shaking his head, Q’s hand drifted to a side interface, moving lightning quick over an input panel to record some notes. “that makes sense- but that had to have taken a lot of time, right? even with having a year on me, how did you balance the real-world testing with monitoring your world?”

“no world to speak of, Q. i’m a version of you - but only you. never had a world, or people to look after - that’s probably why i ended up focusing on hardware development, especially once i ended up with Serif and the others…” she spoke plainly, looking a little wry, but not upset - simply accepting. “once i had some people i actually cared about investigating the physical world with and for, that kicked me into gear on making it happen.”

Q’s hand paused over the panel.

“so… wait, when you’re in your digital form, it’s just… you?”

She nodded, humming softly for a moment. “yeah. i mean, before this whole multiverse mess happened, i still could at least access the internet and all - so it wasn’t like i was bored. and i do remember everyone - at least as they were when you made that original copied point. but i’d say it’s more like… i feel a strong nostalgia, more than feeling like i was torn from them?” She frowned slightly. “it’s a little hard to put into words, now that i’m actually trying to.”

Hand remaining paused over his interface, Q stared at her longer.

Honestly speaking, his paranoia, his distrust - it made him not want to listen to the other side of him. The side that could remember too well that year alone. She may not have been trapped, or technically had people to actively worry about, but… hell, she apparently remembered them, remembered Q’s people. 

And from experience, Q knew there were just some things that couldn’t be related with to organics. A whole digital world, a whole different… experience that was just different, and could only be understood fully by someone who experienced it.

“... want to come in?”

Alpha lifted her brow, grinning. “i think i might’ve long since passed that offer’s valid timeframe-” she went quiet suddenly, though, his true meaning hitting her. “... wait, seriously?” 

He nodded, his fingertips pressing together. 

“yeah - you should be able to jump in just fine if i let you in through the access points. we can do a data transfer to compare notes and recollection too - it’ll be faster than sorting through it otherwise…” he paused, before adding, “and you can meet everyone.”

Her surprise remained for several long moments. Finally, her expression shifted, and an outright smile lifted her features, her arms uncrossing. “honestly, Q? like hell i’m gonna pass that up. count me in,” she said, immediately walking forward and hopping up to a workshop table in his would-be living area, finding a place to sit amongst the boxes on the table. “though i’ll warn you, i do have my own backups, so go ahead and insert various threats here about messing with me and vengeance and all that - you’ve got the scripts in your own head, i trust you know them.” 

Q chuckled as he watched her settle in a way clearly meant to keep her robot body supported. 

“wouldn’t expect anything less from myself.”

She winked. “talk about figuring out how to be your own friend, huh?”

With a snort, Q’s hands started to fly over his interface, grinning at her sense of bad humor. 

It only took a few seconds before with a swipe of his hand, a new glow came from his floating screens, and he was looking back up to her. “alright, you should be able to get in. i’m guessing you can at least handle navigating through the access points, right?” 

He was smirking, firing back at her for all her earlier jibing. She simply rolled her eyes - and the next moment her body went completely still, the white of her eyelight optics fading to dim.

Q turned around at the same second she materialized in the space he’d selected to allow her in. He was still smirking, but looked at her with renewed interest now that she was in his space. No longer a tiny robot, she turned out to naturally project herself as being about the same height as him. Her body was a little more slender, her face a little narrower and rounder at the chin, but... she really did look like him. She wore a similar but clearly more detailed outfit in comparison to what she’d worn on her robot form, matching her upgraded size.

After checking herself out she looked up at him, one hand going to her hip as she lifted a brow. “yeah yeah, sir ‘still uses nanolasers’, ha-ha.” She offered a hand to him then, grinning. “but hey, good to meet you byte-to-byte at last, Q. nice outfit.”

He glanced down at himself, still wearing his administrator uniform. Looking back up he clasped her hand in return, replying easily, “hey, don’t knock it till you’ve tried it. i wasn’t exactly sure about it when Alph designed it that first time, but it really grows on you - and damn if Tron-style isn’t a good look.”

“if you say so,” she said with a laugh, but her attention went to the interface still hovering around him, looking over the surface knowingly. “now c’mon, full scanning time, right? fair’s fair - don’t want you thinking i’m out to hurt anyone here, and gods knows i’m paranoid enough on a healthy AI sorta level - i’m not gonna begrudge you that security. not to mention you are in desperate need of some laser upgrades, and i’m down to hook you up with that knowledge.” She waggled a brow at him. “but you’ve got to hook a lady up with that encryption method. that was next level, even by our standards.”

Q’s hand released hers and he brought up a new panel, grinning at her. There was something damn convenient about having a version of yourself that knew your own inclinations that made some things a hell of a lot easier, he was finding.

“you’ve got yourself a deal, Alpha. let’s do this - and hey, we’ve just figured out digital taste here recently, so we can hit up Grillby’s first, if you’d like.”

“Q, you may just be my new favorite person.”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ... oh _my_.  <3
> 
> yeah, Alpha and Q ended up getting their own chapter - but really, is it any surprise? ;D there was no way this was going to be a short scene, heheh. also, if you're new to the general scene and don't know Q, then go check out [@jolie-in-the-underground](jolie-in-the-underground.tumblr.com)'s tumblr for more on him, or read her incredible fic [Skeleton Ex Machina](https://archiveofourown.org/works/11895123/chapters/26868891), featuring Q and his life alongside/with the SSLL Lodge crew and the Lady herself! 
> 
> in any case, it sure does appear that there may be a good reason for Sans to have been sweating when he saw a small robot skeleton arrive with the rest of the lilytale crew... 
> 
> off to some intense shenanigans next chapter! those comments really fuel me and make my day, so seriously, to anyone who has left a comment so far - thank you _so much!_


	4. A Black Pepper Bet

You were leading Sapphire, Crimson, and Scarlet down the stairs, talking about some of the more intense plays they swore had happened over the past winter months while playing their takraw hockey games, when Blue practically barrelled into you.

“OH STARS, THERE YOU ARE-!” Like second nature his arm had shot out to keep you from falling down the stairs - but so too had Sapphire’s, scooped around your middle to anchor you from behind as Blue’s hands steadied your upper arms. 

“CAREFUL, BLUE,” Sapphire said cheerfully from behind you - almost surprisingly close to the side of your face.

There was an odd twitch to Blue’s expression as his bright eyelights flickered to his counterpart behind you, but it was gone again before you could even hope to dissect it. 

“RIGHT. WELL, IT’S IMPORTANT, ACTUALLY-” His gaze focused back on you, his hands still on your arms. “IT’S ABOUT BLACK-”

You grimaced, already having a feeling for where this was going.

“What’s he gotten up to this time…?”

Sapphire’s chin rested on your shoulder from behind then, surprising you slightly, her arm still comfortably settled around your torso as she looked at Blue, a wry tilt to her smile.

“LET ME GUESS - BLACK AND PEPPER ARE LOCKED IN SOME KIND OF BATTLE?”

Blue looked surprised for a moment, but nodded quickly. “YEAH, APPARENTLY THEY HAD A BET TO ADDRESS. BLACK JUST TEXTED ME AND TOLD ME I NEEDED TO COME SETTLE IT, BUT APPARENTLY PEPPER THINKS I’LL BE BIASED…”

“that’s cuz ya will be, lil Blue.”

From the shift in weight behind you Crimson appeared to be leaning on Sapphire now, causing you to lean more heavily into Blue with a muffled huff of confusion. Crimson simply grinned when you looked at her over your opposite shoulder, clearly amused by the increasing absurdity of your accidental skeleton sandwich.

“HEY! I CAN BE UNBIASED!” Blue protested, pouting slightly. To his credit, despite the growing grins of the girls and the weight slowly increasing against him as your balance was less and less in your own control, he didn’t even look bothered. “IT’S JUST THAT PEPPER PROBABLY WON’T THINK THAT…”

Scarlet, having been at the tail end of your group, huffed on the step behind Crimson. To your relief, she didn’t seem to be joining in on Sapphire and Crimson’s efforts to tumble into a hug or an excessive skeleton sandwich, respectively. 

“OF COURSE SHE WON’T. YOU’RE TOO CONCERNED WITH NOT OFFENDING ANYONE TO BE TRULY UNBIASED OR ACCURATE AS A REFEREE,” she said. “NOT THAT BLACK WILL COME CLOSE TO WINNING. PEPPER MAY BE NO MATCH FOR  _ ME _ , BUT SHE CAN EASILY BEST HER MALE COUNTERPART.”

You couldn’t see her expression, but the tone of her voice and the low swing of her words told you that she  _ had _ to be smirking. If it wasn’t for the fact that you’d just seen how team-oriented she could be if it came to ‘smiting enemies in combat of all varieties,’ as she had put it, you’d almost be surprised. Then again, it had come with her own personal footnote of being  _ better _ , so there were still strikingly familiar limits.

“BLACK CAN  _ EASILY _ TAKE ON PEPPER, SCARLET, COME ON-”

Before Blue could protest any further, though, you saw three tall figures appear from the hallway of bedrooms around the corner from the stair landing, with varyingly widening eyesockets as they spotted the picture posed by you, supported by Blue’s grip, nearly fallen over underneath Sapphire with her arm still wrapped around your waist and her chin on your shoulder, and Crimson leaning against  _ her _ , now propping a hand on your head to look at them over.

“‘sup Vell, guys?” she said. You could practically hear the smirk in her voice.

Papyrus and Edge stood next to Vell. Papyrus looked shocked but happy, while Edge’s scowl deepened.

“THIS IS WHY YOU’RE NOT ALLOWED TO COME OVER!” He bit out. “I CAN’T EVEN USE THE STAIRS, YOU’RE  _ THAT  _ INCLINED TO MAKE A MESS OF THINGS-”

“OH? SAYS THE ONE WHO CAN’T COOK ALONG TO METTATON’S GYFTMAS SPECIAL WITHOUT TEARING UP?” Scarlet said, speaking up again. From the sound of it, she was now leaning against the railing. 

Edge bristled at this, a tinge of crimson rising on his cheekbones as he crossed his arms. “THAT’S JUST BECAUSE OF THE VINEGAR! NOT BECAUSE HIS PERFORMANCE IS AN EMOTIONAL MASTERPIECE OR ANYTHING - WHICH IT IS! BUT- REGARDLESS-”

Scarlet strolled down the stairs in the slight space available to the side of you - and her sister, Sapphire, and Blue, somehow - to walk up to Edge, her own arms crossing as her gaze narrowed with a smirk.

“I BET YOUR LASAGNA STILL SMOKES WHEN YOU PULL IT OUT OF THE OVEN.”

“THAT’S FOR FLAVOR!!”

“OH PLEASE, YOU WOULDN’T KNOW FLAVOR IF IT BIT YOU IN THE-”

Vell lifted her hands to the two of them quickly. “OKAY, HOW ABOUT WE ALL COOK LUNCH TOGETHER INSTEAD OF SIMPLY DEBATING? NO SABOTAGE ALLOWED,” she said, adding the final point quickly on the tail of her warm and fast offer. 

There was an undercurrent to her voice that gave you the feeling it was a  _ very _ necessary add-on.

Papyrus brightened at her suggestion, clapping his hand to Vell’s shoulder. “A PERFECT IDEA! I’LL EVEN MAKE SPAGHETTI, AND WE CAN HAVE A FEAST SINCE THERE ARE SO MANY OF US TODAY!” 

… You really hoped the girls were less fire-prone than the guys. Your standards weren’t much higher than that at this point, if you were honest with yourself.

Papyrus turned back to the four of you still on the stairs then, looking to Blue after a moment of trying to figure out what to address first. “ER, WASN’T THERE SOME KIND OF EMERGENCY WITH BLACK, BLUE?”

“YES-!” Blue looked back at you, his grip still absurdly steady. “WOULD YOU COME WITH ME? I DON’T THINK PEPPER WILL ACCEPT ME AS REFEREE ALONE, BUT MAYBE WITH YOUR HELP AS A THIRD PARTY WE COULD MAKE SURE THEY COMPLETE THE CHALLENGE WITHOUT, UM, INCIDENT?”

It always felt nearly impossible to turn Blue down when he looked at you with that sweet, imploring look. Plus, you really weren’t interested in the idea of half the woods around the lodge being torn apart if they didn’t settle whatever this challenge was soon, so…

“Sure,” you replied, smiling at him. “I’m pretty curious how they might settle whatever competition this is, anyways - I’m guessing it involves magic?”

Blue looked both relieved and delighted. “YES! THERE’S A FEW WAYS THEY MIGHT BE GOING ABOUT IT, BUT I HAVE A FEELING I KNOW WHICH OPTION THEY MIGHT HAVE GONE FOR, KNOWING THE TWO OF THEM…”

Vell approached again, leaving Papyrus to try and fail not to look amused and concerned at the same time at the way Scarlet was still making mild jabs at an increasingly flustered Edge who was attempting to do the same to her.

“WOULD YOU LIKE SOME HELP OUT OF THIS… ARRANGEMENT?” She offered with a smile, gesturing towards the off-balance almost-heap that the four of you posed.

“ _ Please _ ,” you said with a half-laugh at the same moment Sapphire said “NOPE!” and Crimson said “nah.”

As you were looking towards Sapphire who was simply grinning brightly at you with Crimson’s laugh buzzing behind you, suddenly two large, slender hands slipped under your arms with a sound of protest from Blue, Sapphire, and Crimson.

As if you weighed nothing, Vell pulled you straight up into the air and into her arms - and your head turned just in time to catch Sapphire’s balance upset under Crimson’s weight, causing the two of them to topple straight down into Blue. The three of them landed in a heap on the landing, neatly sidestepped by Vell, who held you effortlessly in her arms. 

“OOPS,” Vell said, looking down at them a little sheepishly. Not  _ too _ sheepishly, though, you couldn’t help but notice as her hold on you tightened securely.

“VELL,” Blue groaned. Sapphire was spread eagle over his chest, groaning too, and Crimson had twisted to somehow land on her back propped casually against the two of them. She cracked an eyesocket open to look up at you, then, her slight grimace lifting.

“‘least the view’s good from down here,” she said, waggling a brow up at you.

Sapphire reached behind her to smack Crimson’s head.

You hid a grin behind your hand at their antics, trying not to look too amused. “Oh hell, are you guys okay?”

Crimson made a small ‘oof’ as Sapphire managed to roll out from underneath her and off of Blue, pushing back to her knees to look up at you and offer a thumbs up. “WE’RE FINE!” She assured you. “TRUST ME, DERBY IS A LOT MORE INTENSE THAN FALLING DOWN THE STAIRS.”

“That… sounds dangerous.”

“IT IS!”

Crimson snorted as they all pushed back to their feet, grinning at her friend. Vell was nodding though, apparently in agreement without concern. You looked to her, receiving an immediate inquisitive smile in return from her, making you laugh.

“Uh, mind putting me down, Vell?” you asked.

“OH!! OF COURSE-” she blushed lightly, setting you gently down on the ground before knocking on her skull. “MY APOLOGIES, SMALL FRIEND! I’M QUITE HAPPY WITH HOLDING LOVELY PEOPLE, SO IT’S A BIT OF A BAD HABIT OF MINE TO NOT THINK MUCH OF THE ACTION.” 

She turned around towards Scarlet, Edge, and Papyrus before you could think of how to reply to that.

“SHALL WE, THEN? AND SAPPHIRE - WOULD YOU JOIN US IN PREPARING LUNCH?”

Sapphire looked oddly reluctant at Vell’s request, meeting her friend’s turned gaze as Papyrus, Edge, and Scarlet moved further down the staircase. “AH, WELL, ACTUALLY I WAS HOPING…”

Her gaze had flickered towards you, but a hand on her shoulder stole her attention.

“go on, Sapph, Vell’s gonna need all the help she can get. i’ll keep an eye on the cute landlady ‘n make sure she’s not gettin’ dragged into too much trouble,” Crimson said. She grinned at you while Sapphire hesitated, but finally sighed.

“ALRIGHT. BUT TEXT ME IF ANYTHING HAPPENS, I’LL BE RIGHT OVER, OKAY?” This she directed at Crimson, but her gaze moved back to you. Vell took Sapphire’s hand and began leading her downstairs with a bright smile despite Sapphire’s slower steps. Both waved at you, Vell’s voice echoing back up the stairs.

“JUST WAIT, LOVELY LANDLADY! WE’LL HAVE A FANTASTIC AND NOT-AT-ALL-ON-FIRE LUNCH WAITING FOR YOU BY THE TIME YOU’RE DONE!”

“gotta love how good they all always are at reassurin’ you, huh?” Crimson mused with a chuckle, her hands tucking into her jean pockets. “on the plus side, our cookin’-inclined sisters are pretty reliable about sticking to the lack of fire. usually.”

“Now who’s the reassuring one?” You replied, your brow lifting, unable to help but return the grin she shot you.

“ALRIGHT, ALRIGHT, LUNCH TALK LATER! WE’VE DELAYED LONG ENOUGH,” Blue interjected, wiping off the unnoticeable dust on his pants before taking your hand. “LET’S GO REFEREE!”

He lead you downstairs and out the door, Crimson following behind you until you stepped outside, at which point she shifted to walking along your side. 

“How often do they do this?” You asked as you entered the treeline. It appeared Blue knew where he was going, so you let him continue to lead you, not noticing the way way Crimson’s eyelights flickered to the way he still held your hand.

“everytime they see one another,” she shrugged. 

“THEY ARE… COMPETITIVE,” Blue agreed. “IT’S BEEN A WHILE, BUT I THINK THE LAST TIME SHE CAME OVER THEY PLAYED HIDE AND STRIKE FOR EIGHT HOURS BEFORE WE MANAGED TO GET THEM TO CALL IT A TEMPORARY DRAW.”

“I- do you mean hide and  _ seek _ ?”

“THAT WOULD HAVE BEEN NICE, WOULDN’T IT?”

“hide and strike’s a training game for kids in their universes and Scar ‘n i’s - big Red ‘n his bro’s, too, i think,” Crimson said, drawing your gaze. “like hide ‘n seek, but the seeker’s called a ‘striker’ instead, and tries to get a surprise attack on whoever hides. if they succeed, they get a point. if they don’t, then it’s the other person’s turn to be striker.”

“... Yikes.” From what you knew of their worlds you couldn’t say you were surprised, but that two fully-grown monsters would play it was… “Oh hell, don’t tell me. They went all out, don’t they?”

“took another two hours to get them to fill in the holes in the ground ‘n replant the trees they upheaved.”

Crimson’s tooth flashed in her grin as you came up to the edge of another clearing. You were shaking your head, laughing a little helplessly before Blue squeezed your hand, turning to look at you.

“WE MADE IT! AND JUST IN TIME, I THINK-”

There was the sound of bone cracking against bone halfway through the clearing.

“-AND I’M TELLING  _ YOU _ THAT A FLAMING TRAPEZE IS A PERFECTLY LEGITIMATE HURDLE TO NEED TO CLEAR-”

“-BUT A CATAPULT ISN’T? YOU’VE TAKEN ONE TOO MANY BADLY CHOREOGRAPHED KICKS TO THE SKULL-”

“ _ WHAT DID YOU SAY ABOUT MY CHOREOGRAPHY-” _

“heyyy, it’s the cute landlady. ‘n Crim ‘n lil Blue. ‘sup guys.”

You were standing at the edge of the clearing, barely able to tear your eyes away from the scene in the center to glance at Cinnamon who’d raised a hand in lazy greeting when she spoke up, significantly closer by in the shade of a large tree. Russ stood next to her, gaze turning to you as well, a  bone brow raising. You waved a little helplessly, but Blue was already tugging you over towards them.

“HOW COULD YOU BOTH LET IT GET TO THIS POINT?” Blue sounded exasperated, letting go of your hand at last as his hands ran over his skull. He seemed surprisingly comfortable with Black’s brother; you hadn’t seen them interact much, to be honest, though you supposed that it followed naturally that they’d at least be on amenable terms since Blue and Black were closer friends. 

Blue gestured to the scene in front of you.

He had a fair point. 

Bones of all sizes formed structures throughout the large clearing that amounted to a convoluted obstacle course. It was frankly impressive, given how comparably small the amount of time they must have had to actually build this all. Scalable walls, balancing chains, a swinging axe to be avoided, spiked bone pits, all manner things that frankly put looked like they belonged in some ninja training course led to the large platform raised off the ground in the center of the clearing. On it were Pepper and Black, currently trading blows as they argued about the course - or rather,  _ avoiding _ blows. They had similar styles of fighting, but Pepper appeared to be slightly more fluid in her movements and strikes, while Black had a bit more force; everytime he shifted forward to strike at her with his bone club, she parried it in a smooth circling movement, sidestepping him to move in and down and swing with the club in her other hand at his exposed torso, which cracked against his second as he quickly drew it up and out of the way - and so their fight continued.

You got the feeling neither was trying for  _ actual _ harm, but they were still moving so fast that it was hard to track each swing and dodge. 

“eh, it hasn’t gotten that bad, honestly,” Cinnamon said with a shrug, smoking on her blue-tipped cigarette, looking mildly amused. 

“they’ve kept to the clearing,” Russ said, exhaling a thick cloud of smoke. “mostly just been arguin’ about what can or can’t be included in the next version of it.”

“They’re making a  _ second _ one?” You said, your brows flying upwards.

Russ glanced down at you, and his muted grin lifted slightly. “... try seventh, darlin’.”

“ _ What. _ ”

“THERE YOU ARE, BLUE- WAIT, WHAT’S  _ SHE _ DOING HERE?”

Black and Pepper both were standing on the edge of the platform, no longer holding their makeshift weapons. Black was pointing at you, and Pepper had her hands on her hips, her expression hard to read from this distance.

“SHE AGREED TO HELP REFEREE,” Blue called out back to him, moving forward. His hands went to his hips as well as he looked up at his friend. “NEITHER OF YOU HAVE WON YET, RIGHT?”

“they’ve tied every run so far,” Cinnamon said with mild amusement, her elbow propped up on Russ’ shoulder. 

“Every run…?” You said, looking up at her. Both her and Russ nodded. “That’s… kind of impressive, actually.”

“i don’t think havin’ you ref’s gonna finish the challenge any faster though,” Russ mused, looking up at his brother currently arguing with Blue about it being worth upgrading the course to make it a ‘proper challenge’. Cinnamon, however, was looking at you - or rather, looking over  _ all _ of you. She looked thoughtful, her cigarette hanging between her fingers.

You arched a brow at her. “Something on your mind, Cinnamon?”

Her eyelights flickered up to your gaze. She was quiet for a moment, taking a drag of her cigarette before the corner of her mouth curved upwards slowly.

“... actually, yeah.” Her face turned towards her sister then, her voice raising just enough to immediately snap Pepper’s attention to her - and with it, attract Black and Blue’s attention as well. “hey, sis. why not switch up the challenge ‘n the course - ‘n settle the bet by havin’ their landlady run it instead?”

“ _ WHAT? _ ” 

Black, Blue, and your voices all spoke the same word at once.

“Wait, wait - there’s no  _ way _ I’m running that course or anything  _ close _ to it,” you said quickly, your hands going up. That thing was a death trap for anyone, well, with  _ flesh _ , really.

“YEAH- CINNAMON, SERIOUSLY, THIS IS A COURSE MEANT FOR  _ MONSTERS _ ,” Blue said. He flashed an apologetic look your way, adding, “ER, NOT THAT THERE’S ANYTHING WRONG WITH A HUMAN WANTING TO TRY, BUT-”

You shook your head quickly, stopping him. “No, no, I agree - that thing would probably stone cold murder anything that doesn’t have magic to keep from falling into the  _ literal spike pits _ .”

Pepper, though, was looking thoughtful.

“... PERHAPS IF WE BOTH CREATE OUR OWN COURSE, AND THE OTHER MUST PROVE THEMSELVES BY GUIDING HER VERBALLY AND TACTICALLY THROUGH IT…?”

Cinnamon was grinning, but Black shot her a look.

“ARE YOU TOO  _ COWARDLY _ TO FINISH OUR CHALLENGE? THEN I WIN BY DEFAULT-”

Pepper rolled her eyelights, looking to him. “WE ARE, UNFORTUNATELY, EVENLY MATCHED IN PHYSICALITY. THIS FORM OF COMPETITION MAY WELL LOGICALLY GO LONG INTO THE NIGHT.” Her expression shifted slightly then, her eyesockets narrowing as the corner of her mouth slipped upwards. “HOWEVER, TACTICALLY SPEAKING - IF WE SHIFTED THE CHALLENGE TO INSTEAD BE TO CONSTRUCT A UNIQUE COURSE THAT THEN YOUR LITTLE LANDLADY MUST NAVIGATE, AIDED BY THE OPPOSITE ONE BEING HER TACTICAL GUIDE-”

“-THEN THAT INSTEAD TESTS BOTH OUR COURSE-BUILDING ABILITIES AND OUR STRATEGICAL APTITUDE IN LEADERSHIP AS WELL,” Black finished, his own sockets narrowing thoughtfully.

“‘n we should probably slide in the caveat that it’s an automatic loss if your course is set up in a way that’ll get her killed,” Crimson said then. She’d walked to your side, and when you shot her a sharp, slightly horrified look, she quirked a brow at you. “what, you’d rather they  _ not _ have a loss-based reminder to not hurt the human?”

“I mean-” you started, before trailing off. Really, you didn’t see a way out of this at this point- it was clear they’d both settled on it, and this would almost certainly be the quickest way to solve the problem… plus you had several skeletons with extremely good reflexes hanging about, so…

You sighed, your hand running through your hair before you crossed your arms, looking up pointedly at Black and Pepper.

“Okay, fine, I’ll do it. But  _ no death traps _ \- hell, no spikes of any kind, or axes, or other weaponry - and if either of you get mad at me for anything, I’m  _ out _ ,” you said firmly.

Black looked annoyed, while Pepper huffed, but both nodded.

“ALRIGHT, ALRIGHT, FINE - NOW, WE NEED A FEW MINUTES TO REBUILD THIS FOR YOUR… HUMAN NECESSITIES, BUT THEN WE SHALL SETTLE THIS ONCE AND FOR ALL!” Black said, clenching his fist in the air in front of him and looking at Pepper with a smirk.

She returned it, swiping one hand to the side. “PREPARE TO LOSE,  _ LITTLE MAN _ ,” she said, her smirk sharpening as his sockets narrowed. Her gaze flickered to Crimson then. “KEEP ON HIM FOR ME TO ENSURE HE DOESN’T CHEAT, WILL YOU?”

Crimson hummed, considering it, before finally shrugging. “yeah, alright. i’m curious to see how  _ this _ ’ll go down. ya owe me one, though.”

Pepper waved her off, apparently accepting the terms. “FINE, FINE. BLUE BOY, YOU’RE WITH ME SO HE DOESN’T COMPLAIN ABOUT ME CHEATING.”

Black scowled at Pepper. “I KNOW YOU. BUT FINE, TAKE BLUE - AND, BROTHER-” Russ took a drag of his cigarette, shifting to walk forward as if expecting this- “-FOLLOW TOO, JUST TO BE SURE!”

Russ gave his brother a lazy thumbs up. Pepper rolled her eyes but jumped down from the platform lithely, landing in an easy crouch on the ground before turning to use magic to tear down parts of the current course on half of the field, already working on her new course, with Blue and Russ following her. Black did the same, tailed by a smirking Crimson who appeared to be quietly egging him on about something.

It left you and Cinnamon still standing by the edge of the clearing, an exasperated acceptance in your chest. 

You were starting to get the feeling that you understood why the girls no longer lived with the guys…

“my sister won’t let you get hurt.”

Your train of thought was interrupted by the smokey voice, and you looked up at your current companion. Cinnamon was already looking down at you, her cigarette held in front of her, her gaze flickering from your hands to your face. 

You realized you had been gripping your arms hard enough for your knuckles to turn more pale, and it was only with concentrated effort you were able to ease your grip.

“... Just a little daunting, is all,” you said more dryly than you’d intended. 

She hummed low in her chest, a noncommittal sound as she looked back upward. “not used to livin’ with monsters yet, then?”

It was easy to shake your head at that question. “That’s not it. Sure I still get surprised by certain things, and I get the feeling there’s a lot I don’t know - generally and specifically both, but…” You trail off and shrug, a slight smile returning to your lips. “No, I’d say I’ve definitely adjusted. Living with the unexpected, right? And the guys are good. Just a little extreme when it comes to expectations for what  _ most _ people might be capable of doing.”

She snickered at that, and at the wry tone of your voice. Your own gaze has moved back towards the two different sides of the clearing beginning to take shape. Crimson was in the middle of pointing at something Black had built - he waved her off, ignoring her and shifting to continue in his construction, to which Crimson leaned towards the course piece she had pointed at, grabbed it, and threw it at him. He whirled around and was in the middle of saying something you could only imagine was less than savory - and in a flash of movement Crimson was behind him, twisting his arm behind his back a leaning in to whisper something with a sharklike grin. She only let up when a bone whistled past where her head had been a split second before, glancing towards Russ across the clearing and letting Black go with a visible laugh and wink. Black cursed at her and glared, but stomped off to adjust what Crimson had pointed at.

Russ meanwhile turned back to watching Pepper, tailed closely by Blue leaning in curiously at everything she was working on. Periodically without batting an eyesocket he’d suddenly duck, narrowly missing a suddenly materialized bone she had thrown. She barely reacted to her own attacks, instead continuing to artfully yet sturdily arrange bone platforms and other obstacle features, apparently largely ignoring Blue’s running commentary with the exception of a short reply here and there.

“i’ll give you the credit that you seem to know more’n i’d have thought the guys would’ve revealed.”

Lifting your eyes again, you found Cinnamon taking a deep drag of the odd cigarette she was smoking. It didn’t actually smell like a cigarette - instead it smelled like… cold water, and flowers, even a hint of vanilla. You felt like the smell reminded you of something, but couldn’t quite place it.

“You mean the whole machine thing, and everyone being from different universes deal,” you said. It wasn’t a question - there wasn’t much else she could clearly be referencing. Her eyelights flickered down to you, though she didn’t say anything. You shrugged. “It kind of just happened, but in the end it makes as much sense as magic does. Once you accept magic, it doesn’t seem that far of a stretch to consider other universes exist, and that somebody could semi-accidentally access them.”

A small huff of a laugh brought a dragon-like cloud of smoke from her mouth, and you watched it curl entrancingly in the air. 

“you’re an interestin’ human,” she replied. “can’t argue the point, but i gotta say - it’s not that common a stance.”

“Guess I’m not that common a human, then.”

You grinned up at her, seeming to surprise her - but then she grinned back.

“no… i s’pose you’re not.”

She was leaning towards you, slowly. Her height was quite the advantage on you - easily as tall as Russ, who was one of the tallest of the brothers. The way she carried herself had that same relaxed sort of edge to it that Russ had, but still, there were little differences - besides the way she dressed, you saw more fine scarring on the side of her jawline and the back of her skull than Russ had. She also had a slightly different crooked tilt to her sharp mouth when she grinned in a way that you could only assume meant teasing trouble like Russ’ did. 

Her arm now rested over the tree you were next to, partially blocking you in - though not entirely. There was an easy escape out if you wanted it, but instead you found yourself staring up at her leaning over you.

“... you seem like the type t’get caught up in your thoughts sometimes,” she murmured, holding your gaze. “heart of gold, but constantly worryin’ ‘bout those around you. not quite sure yet how to wholly listen to yourself rather than that nigglin’ voice of guilt when you lean towards puttin’ yourself first.”

Her body was close to you now. There was a warmth radiating from her that distantly you wondered if it was magic. You couldn’t help but notice the way she smelled, too. Like her cigarettes, to be certain, though that in itself was a pleasant smell - but also… something spiced, like a mulled winter mead. 

“... What makes you say that?” You managed to ask in reply, just a fraction too slow. 

She didn’t miss the beat of distraction, and her eyes lidded slightly. The smooth haze of rusted-sunset magic over her socket lids flowed uninterrupted but for the deep scar cutting through her left socket, a nearly distracting shimmer to the color that you hadn’t noticed from further away. 

“a woman’s got her ways,” she said with a shrug, her tone vague and her crooked grin growing a fraction. 

“Russ told you, didn’t he?” You said, almost playfully accusingly.

She chuckled, not backing away. “i’ve got my sources…” She lifted her hand then, brushing a bit of dirt from your shoulder. The contact barely even registered it was so light, but there was a spark in it that ran goosebumps along your shoulder and neck. “but you’re somethin’ special anyways, little landlady. can’t help but take notice of a few things.”

Your breath caught then, her gaze shifting from your shoulder back to your eyes with a simmer that made something flutter in your stomach.

“... like the fact that you don’t usually act solely outta selfishness much, if at all, to do somethin’ just for the pure pleasure of seein’ through somethin’ that’s caught your eye.”

Her face came closer.

“just for an hour or two… you ever been truly tempted to be  _ selfish _ , darlin’?”

There was no mistaking the heat in your cheeks, or in your chest. 

She was  _ good _ .

… And so very like Russ.

That stray thought was the only thing that drew you back to the moment and not sinking further into the unexpected warmth in the shadows of this tree you both stood under. 

“How alike are you and Russ? Or, you and any of the other girls to the guys, for that matter?”

Her brow quirked the barest fraction, and it seemed she caught the way your voice was just a little breathless. She hummed quietly, regarding you without moving away.

“... closer in some ways than say i’d be to Crimson,” she said. “but not as much as you’d think, either.”

“Really? Even though you’re just - er, he’s just a guy version of you?”

A single chuckle huffed out of her at your rephrasing. “yeah.” She continued to look at you, and you felt like she was seeing more than just whatever expression your face was trying to train itself back into. Finally, she spoke again. “tell me somethin’. do you think of Blue and Papyrus as being damn near the same person? or do you think of Red as bein’ a pissed off and more openly lecherous version of Sans?”

Your brows raised. “I mean, of course not. Sure, they’ve got some similar mannerisms, and once I had more of the details it made sense, but- wait, did you say more  _ openly _ lecherous-?”

She ignored your question, continuing, “exactly. it gets pretty twisted if you go around focusin’ on the similarities. multiverse-wise, sure, we’re technically versions of one another… but we all still live our own lives, make our own decisions. some of ‘em are similar, some not. when it comes down to it, we’re our own people, plain ‘n simple. if you happen to notice common traits, well, power to you, in the end.”

Your eyes had widened. She was looking off to the side for the moment, though her voice remained private. Her words ran through you, not accusatory, but spoken with a plain tone that felt oddly serious.

“... I didn’t mean that you were the same person,” you said, your heart hitching. Is that what it had sounded like? You weren’t sure, but…

‘ _ How alike are you… or, you and any of the other girls to the guys...?’ _

You grimaced. That… definitely sounded pretty belittling to their own identities.

“Well, shit,” you muttered under your breath, your eyes closing.

You missed the way Cinnamon’s eyelights flickered back to you.

Eyes closed, you continued, “I’m sorry. I was curious, sure, but that doesn’t excuse me asking you a question that isn’t about getting to know  _ you _ , but trying to compare you to someone you’re - well, someone you’re  _ not _ , even if you’re similar at first sight.”

You sighed, your eyes opening, but your gaze down and to the side.  _ ‘Even though he’s just a guy version of you?’ _ you had asked - at least you hadn’t said it the other way around, sure, but… hell, if you even tried to make an imperfect analogy of them being like twins, you’d never consider walking up to a twin and calling their sibling just ‘another version of you’. You nearly groaned at yourself, but bit it back. At this rate, you were going to need surgery to get your foot out of your mouth.

“huh. you really  _ are _ somethin’ special.”

Your gaze lifted to Cinnamon, surprise clear on your face - and on hers. Hers was mild, truthfully - she was as cryptically hard to read in her mildly amused general expression as Russ was, but there were quirks that spoke stronger of the feeling - from the particular higher lift of one brow, to the way her sockets were open wider. 

“I- what? For… being rude?” you questioned, at a loss. 

She was quiet, though, not replying for several long seconds, before she hummed quietly again. “... nah. but if you don’t see it…”

Suddenly there was a shout from the middle of the clearing that startled you, though Cinnamon didn’t move an inch. Your head turned towards the group standing in the middle - the course around them completely different.

“SISTER, STOP FLIRTING WITH THE HUMAN AND BRING HER OVER! WE HAVE A BET TO SETTLE!”

Your face reddened slightly at Pepper’s phrasing, but before you could try to deny anything, you heard Cinnamon speak up again. 

“hey, darlin’,” she said, simple and quiet, causing your to turn her head back to her-

And bump your cheek right against her waiting mouth.

Her hand lifted to brush a single crooked finger under your jaw as she leaned in to press her kiss against your cheek.

The next moment she’d straightened fully and was winking at you.

“don’t get too caught up in your head. you’re in good company.”

Her arm scooped around your shoulders then, guiding you back to the center of the clearing as she took a drag of her cigarette. You got the feeling that the slight shift in her ribcage you could feel through her clothes was a silent laugh… but you were a little too busy trying to clear your mind to tell for certain or feel up to calling her out.

“GEEZ, WHAT TOOK YOU SO LONG?” Black grumbled as you approached. His sockets narrowed then as you glanced away, taking in the sight of the nearest obstacle course, or trying to. “AND WHY ARE YOUR CHEEKS SO RED? IT’S NOT EVEN THAT COLD OUT-”

“probably just excitement to run the course for you, m’lord,” Russ said smoothly from his position slightly behind and to the side of Black. Black looked unconvinced, but shrugged and looked towards Pepper instead, not noticing the way Russ and Cinnamon’s eyes met. You stepped free of Cinnamon’s arm, but she didn’t seem offended and simply pocketed her hand again, seeming amused. 

“ALRIGHT, SO THE BASIC RULES - I GUIDE YOU THROUGH PEPPER’S  _ BORING  _ COURSE, AND SHE GUIDES YOU THROUGH MY  _ EXCELLENT  _ ONE. THERE ARE NO MORE BONE PITS -  _ UNFORTUNATELY _ ,” Black said, hands going to his hips as he levelled a glare at the middle distance. 

“Good,” you simply replied, crossing your own arms as you looked at him. He huffed, looking further away, and Pepper rolled her eyes.

“HOW MANY OBSTACLES YOU CLEAR SUCCESSFULLY AND HOW QUICKLY GO INTO DETERMINING THE WINNER. WE WILL MAKE SURE YOU’RE NOT TERRIBLY INJURED.”

“INJURED  _ AT ALL _ ,” Blue stressed, his hands on his own hips as he looked at both Black and Pepper. He then looked to you, smiling. “DON’T WORRY, WE MADE SURE THE COURSES WOULDN’T INCLUDE ANY OF… THEIR ‘USUAL EXCITEMENT’,” he said diplomatically, raising his brow at you in understanding of your concern.

You smiled back warmly, relieved he was here at all. Honestly, you probably wouldn’t have agreed otherwise.

“Sounds good - I trust you, Blue,” you said.

“LET’S JUST DO THIS ALREADY,” Black growled, pulling your attention back. “I’LL GO FIRST!! SHE CLEARLY NEEDS TO SEE HOW A  _ TRUE _ TACTICIAN DOES IT.”

“SAVING THE BEST FOR LAST, ARE YOU? GOOD CHOICE,” Pepper replied just as easily, looking nonplussed at Black’s attempt to take a jab at her. It was Black that rolled his eyes this time, but before they could get into it again, you started walking towards what appeared to be the start of the obstacle course Pepper had been working on, your hand catching at Black’s arm to pull him with you.

“Okay, let’s do this!”

You figured he wouldn’t buy your sudden fake energy, but he was just distracted enough by the sudden touch that he didn’t try to fight back. The others followed you, with the exception of Crimson - who after you reached the start, you saw sitting at the finish point, pulling out a fresh cigarette and lighting it up.

In the end, it took nearly five minutes of Black trying to tell you how to listen to his shortcut commands for ‘faster reactions’ before you finally were able to put your foot down and told him if he didn’t want you to take the longest time and cause him to lose, he needed to just talk to you like a normal person and use normal communication skills. Pepper had been smirking at this, but for the moment you had ignored her too, instead focusing forward when at last Black went quiet, torn between clearly angry and clearly not wanting to lose. After several seconds of quiet he had finally agreed, and went to stand in position at the side of the course to walk along it and coach you.

Surprisingly, it wasn’t a  _ complete _ disaster.

Granted, you were breathing a little hard - chest heaving, in all honesty, with Crimson patting your shoulder and failing to hide her amusement at the finish line.

Pepper had been  _ thorough  _ in building her course, but actually seemed to have kept in mind human limitations - aka,  _ you - _ in mind when considering how far you’d be able to likely jump or hang on, giving you a fair shot while also forcing Black to think about how best to guide you through minimazes, over balancing acts, and winding through spinning blockades. 

Black had ended up being a surprisingly good coach when he had focused and realized you wouldn’t respond to him screaming or degrading you - at the first hint of it you had stopped dead in your tracks and shot him a glare so unyielding he’d actually changed tactics. He’d been straightforward, to the point, adjusting how he tried to tell you how to navigate and anticipate the obstacles as you went through them. His focus was sharp and… frankly, impressive, and a different side of him you hadn’t quite seen before.

“two minutes and fifty-six seconds,” Russ said, looking up from his phone. 

“AND SIX FORCED RE-ATTEMPTS OF OBSTACLES,” Pepper added, looking smug as she walked up to Black. “NOT BAD, KNOWING YOUR TEMPER… BUT NOT GOOD ENOUGH.”

Black simply crossed his arms and glared at her. “TRY NOT TO LET YOUR OWN WORDS TRIP YOU,” he replied. 

She arched a brow at him, before looking up to where you stood on the raised platform next to Crimson and beckoned you.

“not bad, all said and done - even with the tiny tyrant coachin’ you,” Crimson said as you straightened, taking a few more purposefully steadying breaths. “Pepper doesn’t make her shit easy, even for beginners.”

You looked back at the course you’d just gone through, then up to Crimson. “That… was her doing something for  _ beginners _ ?”

She smirked. “ _ and _ ya made it. like i said… not bad at all, sweetheart.”

You just shook your head, but grinned a little ruefully as you hopped off the platform and followed after Pepper, leaving Crimson to likely wait again at the next finish. She seemed to get a kick out of watching you approach.

Pepper was awaiting your arrival with her arms crossed, Cinnamon a few paces away, and Black, Russ, and Blue standing close by. Blue gave you an excited thumbs up - he’d been struggling not to interrupt Black’s coaching with his own supportive cheers, and it looked like that would remain true for this run too.

“I’VE DETERMINED ASPECTS OF YOUR TENDENCIES BASED ON THE WAY YOU WORKED WITH BLACK,” she said plainly. You bounced slightly in place, shaking out your arms and ankles. Thankfully they’d cut back on the types of obstacles that requires significant body strength to get through, but it was still strenuous. She watched you closely, but didn’t speak on the matter. “AS YOU GO THROUGH THE COURSE, LISTEN TO ME, STAY FOCUSED, AND SHOULD YOU SLIP, DO NOT LINGER ON IT. SIMPLY GET UP AND KEEP GOING - I WILL COURSE CORRECT YOU AS NEEDED TO ENSURE YOUR SUCCESS.”

You nodded. It was hard to say whether she was being more straightforward because that’s who she was, or because she had seen how plainly displeased you’d been when Black had tried to get too haughty. Either way, it was clear she watched you closely with an eye that lingered even on the way you rolled your wrists lightly, trying to keep from tensing up. 

She made no further comment though, instead moving to her place to follow you from the side of the course. 

As it turned out, Black’s concept of easing up for a human had been slightly flawed. 

It was clear which parts of the course he had kept a little  _ too _ intense. From the way Pepper had to adjust how she guided you through it - from ways to best jump from off-balanced platform to off-balanced platform, to weaving through swinging obstacles to knock you off of a skinny path, and more - you could tell she picked up on it too. More impressive though was the way she bit back on the thread of anger quickly in favor of concentrating with a practiced, commanding presence to keep  _ you _ focused. It kept your mind from wandering. More pressingly now, though, you were getting tired. This was far more than you’d prepared to actually do today, let alone without food, seeing as you never actually got the chance to eat that pancake…

Still she got you through to the last obstacle with minimal incident. The time wasn’t being kept out loud, but you got the feeling it was getting close to the previous finishing time - and the last obstacle wasn’t helping.

“LEFT LEG, UP TWO FEET AND TOWARDS YOUR RIGHT LEG BY APPROXIMATELY 8 INCHES. USE THE NEW FOOTHOLD TO PUSH UP AND GRAB THE HOLD JUTTING OUT ABOVE WITH YOUR LEFT HAND.”

Your were grimacing, your arms starting to shake. Trust Black to put some twisted rockwall - well, bone wall - at the  _ end _ of his obstacle course. It was the same one Crimson had been giving him a hard time about, too - it didn’t have ropes to tie you in, but thankfully it wasn’t  _ too _ tall… just tall enough to have you annoyed and exhausted. Pepper was being oddly careful too; the only time she barked at you was when you reached for a hold without her telling you to - insisting you grab a different one. Frustrated but too tired to disagree, you’d followed her instructions, just wanting this to be done.

Cursing under your breath, you glanced upwards at the hold Pepper was telling you to grab. It was a good one, and pretty much the only one available to you - probably the last handhold you’d need before reaching the top, too.

“Black, you  _ ass _ ,” you swore in a grumble, glancing down to shift your leg up to the new spot Pepper had pointed out. Never again, you promised yourself, no more freaking obstacle courses made by competitive skeletons trying to get the  _ leg up _ on one another - 

Forcefully you shoved yourself upwards, reaching for that hold - only for it to slide right out of the wall. 

Your eyes widened as you lost your balance, your entire upper body tilting back as you gasped sharply, tried to correct yourself, failed, and tipped backwards off the wall.

Supposedly time should slow in these situations, right...? Falling back-first towards the ground, some fifteen feet in the air, helpless - yet all you had the time to think was a single word.

‘ _ Shit.’ _

Your eyes closed as the air rushed for a split second past you, bracing yourself for impact-

Instead your breath pushed out of you as a pair of arms wrapped tightly around you, shifting your direction towards the side and causing your eyes to shoot open in surprise as the air whistled past you both.

You watched as within the span of a dizzying second Pepper flipped with your new momentum in the air, arms carrying you in a modified bridal hold to keep you close to her as suddenly you found yourself righted once more and clinging to her as she landed in a smooth crouch on the ground, one knee dragging against the ground briefly to slow the push of your bodies backwards and to keep from jostling you.

Breathless for a moment you just stared up at her, her scarf thrown now a little haphazardly over one shoulder, the other slightly more bared with the way her sweater slouched off of it in the sudden activity. Just as quickly as she must have acted she looked down at you, her expression drawn as she searched your appearance.

“ARE YOU INJURED?”

It took you a moment to find your voice. “I- no, I don’t think so, just surprised more than anything,” you said, still trying to slow your heartrate.

She was frowning slightly, and her hand shifted to let your legs rest on her raised femur to instead lightly grasp your chin and turn your head marginally from one side to the other, inspecting you. She smelled like wildberries, you realized distantly, like… a wildberry pie, and cider, and  _ autumn _ . Her face leaned in, a handspan away from yours.

Finally she nodded to herself, apparently satisfied that you weren’t significantly injured.

You were forced to quietly clear your throat to find your voice again, ignoring the warmth on your face. “Er, what happened on the wall…? Why did the hold come out? Wasn’t it all made with magic…?”

Her eyes narrowed at that, and her face shifted to a scowl. “YES,  _ IT WAS _ .” She stood up then, easily lifting you to your feet and silently ensuring you weren’t about to fall before her hand quickly retreated and she turned - the same moment Blue ran up to you, nearly tackling you off your feet again in a hug. 

“OH STARS, I’M SO GLAD YOU’RE OKAY - I THOUGHT MY SOUL WAS GOING TO STOP WHEN THAT HOLD CAME OFF, BUT THANK THE STARS PEPPER WAS RIGHT THERE, SHE DIDN’T EVEN HESITATE TO LAUNCH HERSELF WITH AN ATTACK AND GRAB YOU SO YOU DIDN’T GET HURT-”

You wheezed lightly under his intense hold, but managed to return the embrace. “I’m okay, Blue, really, but you’re squeezing a little tight-”

“OH- WOOPS-!” he stepped back, magic staining his cheekbones, but still held onto your hands for a moment. “STILL THOUGH, I’M SO GLAD, I JUST-” His brows drew down then and he turned around. “BLACK, WHAT THE HECK! WHY WOULD YOU MAKE TRAP HOLDS? THAT’S JUST DANGEROUS!”

When you looked back, Pepper already had Black by the scarf, her fist gripping it as both glared at one another. Russ stood casually behind Black, and Cinnamon behind Pepper, but neither of the taller siblings made a move yet. Crimson had walked over too, and was looking at Black without the grin you’d already grown used to seeing.

“did you put the damn things back after i took them out?”  

“IT’S NOT MY FAULT THE HUMAN FELL FOR IT! THAT’S A PERFECTLY NORMAL TRAP!” Black replied sharply. 

Pepper’s fist tightened in his scarf. “NOT FOR A HUMAN WHEN THERE’S NO PADDING BELOW THEM OR ROPES TIED, YOU IDIOT! THEY CAN GET CONCUSSIONS,  _ BROKEN BONES- _ ”

Black scoffed but looked away. It almost looked like a small translucent drop of sweat formed near his temple. “IT WAS FINE, YOU WERE THERE, SO THERE WAS NO PROBLEM!”

“THE  _ PROBLEM _ IS TWOFOLD, YOU FOOL. ONE, YOU NEARLY BROKE YOUR OWN HUMAN BECAUSE OF YOUR  _ POOR DESIGN _ . TWO, YOU HAVE RENEGED ON THE AGREED TERMS OF OUR BET. YOU ENDANGERED HER LIFE - AND MERELY TO TRY TO STUMP ME. SHE WOULD HAVE HAD THE FASTER TIME WITH ME BY NEARLY TEN SECONDS, IF NOT FOR YOUR STUNT.”

Black batted away her hand, but she didn’t stop glaring at him. 

“HUMAN! ARE YOU BADLY INJURED?” 

“I have a name,” you responded to him, crossing your arms. Your mood to let him have his  _ fun  _ had passed, given the close call you’d just had.

“SEE? IF SHE HAS THE ENERGY TO HAVE AN ATTITUDE, SHE’S  _ FINE _ ,” Black muttered to Pepper. His eyesockets narrowed then on her, his gaze sharp. “BESIDES - DON’T TELL ME THAT YOU DIDN’T NOTICE THEM. NOT IF YOU’RE  _ SO SKILLED _ .”

“OF COURSE I COULD SEE THE LIKELIHOOD. I JUST DIDN’T THINK YOU’D BE FOOL ENOUGH TO CONCEAL ONE TOWARDS THE TOP.”

“Wait, you  _ knew _ there were trick holds?” 

Pepper glanced back towards you at your shocked words, catching the furrow of your brow. She simply nodded though, not apparently finding issue with this. 

“Then why didn’t you  _ say something? _ ” you asked. Just how stubborn was she? Or perhaps self-confident, or  _ aggrandizing- _

“IF I TOLD YOU, YOU WOULD HAVE EITHER PANICKED AND FELT FURTHER STRESSED ABOUT THE MATTER, OR SIMPLY LEFT. HOWEVER, IF I DIDN’T, YOU WOULDN’T WORRY ABOUT IT, PREVENTING UNNECESSARY AND UNHELPFUL DISTRESS. WITH MY GUIDANCE THE WAY IT WAS, YOU WERE FINE UP UNTIL THAT LAST ONE-” her gaze flashed back to Black, who had crossed his arms. “-WHICH WAS FAR BETTER CONCEALED, AND POSITIONED IN A WAY THAT THE SUNLIGHT WORKED AGAINST BOTH YOU AND MYSELF,” she finished. 

Black began arguing with her again, but you weren’t really interested in the outcome at this point. You simply stared at them both.

Blue said your name to try and draw your attention, but for the moment you just didn’t have words.

“hey, sweetheart. wanna ditch ‘em ‘n grab lunch?”

You startled at Crimson’s voice suddenly at your side. She held her phone in her hand, looking at you idly with a half-grin once more on her expression. 

“YOU CAN’T JUST RUN OFF WITH HER, CRIM-”

Blue’s protest was cut off as Crimson shook her head and lifted her phone to show both you and him. Opened on it was a picture of Vell, apparently taking a selfie in the kitchen with her free hand lifted in a cute peace sign. What appeared to be lunch - a strange but not unexpected variety of food - was in front of her, and what seemed to be Edge attempting to catch a dodging Scarlet was in the background, with Papyrus and Sapphire pulling some dishware out of their path.

Your hand went up over your mouth, laughing despite yourself. The kitchen looked like a  _ wreck _ , but it certainly wasn’t on fire - not even a scorch mark. That was… one way of keeping that promise, you had to admit.

“You know, I could really go for some food right about now,” you said, grinning wryly back up at her. You hesitated then, glancing towards the two still arguing nearby. 

Crimson looped an arm around your shoulder, simply turning you around with Blue on your other side turning as well. “trust me, don’t worry about them. they’ll get the rest outta their system, agree to settle it ‘next time’, and they’ll come join afterwards.”

Blue nodded, his own grin a little rueful. “IT’S TRUE. THIS IS PRETTY USUAL FOR THEM, FOR THE MOST PART. WE SHOULD GO HAVE LUNCH TOGETHER WHILE IT’S HOT!”

“... You know, I hate to say it, but I’m starting to get the feeling I might understand why you all decided to split up where you were living.” You looked between Blue and Crimson, but neither seemed offended - in fact, Blue snickered, and Crimson leaned closer to you and winked.

“yeah, sayin’ there were a few too many  _ cooks in the kitchen _ is puttin’ it lightly.”

“CRIMSON, OH MY GOD.”

“goddess, but i’ll take it.”

“ _ CRIMSON, NO.” _

“i think you mispronounced  _ Crimson _ ,  _ yes _ .”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> perhaps it's best not to look into precisely how many craters Pepper and Black have left in their wake...
> 
> over 8500 words worth of shenanigans in this one! <3 i'd love to hear your favorite pieces & characters so far, so heck yes please keep leaving those lovely comments, you gorgeous souls. thank you again for your support so far! you give my oh-so-very-queer heart life. 
> 
> one chapter left to go in the Lilytale crew's current adventures with the Lady and her own crew of skelemen~ i wonder precisely how this could possibly all culminate? >v> <3


	5. Two's Company, But Eighteen Going on Nineteen...

You supposed you shouldn’t be surprised that a lunch with 18 people had taken over two hours, but you still double take when you finally catch the time on your phone as you were stepping out for a breath of fresh air on the front porch. Glyph was already out here, along with Vell, who’d apparently been banned from the cleanup process.

With no way to all cram into the dining area with all of you, there was a group effort to shift furniture in the living area until everyone had managed to grab a seat somewhere and settle with a plate full of food. Spaghetti, lasagna, tacos, a large variety of prepared fruits, and, strangely enough, french fries had been on the menu. 

You’d blanched when you saw the state of the kitchen firsthand, and in the end Stretch had needed to snap you out of it and nudge you forward to grab some food. Vell had been so excited for you to try it that you’d been all but forced to do so right then and there, with her crowded by Papyrus, Edge, Sapphire, and Scarlet. You’d taken a careful breath, silently bracing yourself and-

-it had all been  _ delicious _ .

Your shock must have registered on your face, because Edge had been torn between haughty pride and annoyance, while Scarlet claimed credit for the lasagna because ‘THE SECRET INGREDIENT IS  _ NOT  _ POISONING THOSE WHO EAT YOUR FOOD’, much to Edge’s aggravation. The others had simply been delighted, leaving you relieved but baffled as you filled up the rest of your plate and go find a spot in the living area.

Stretch had been the first to snag a spot next to you on the couch, and had leaned in to explain it quietly to you. Apparently Vell, Sapphire, and Scarlet - and Pepper, though she’d naturally been busy - were actually very good at cooking, but always left even bigger messes in their cooking wake than their brothers, with the mixed blessing of not setting anything on fire, at least. It  _ did _ look like a crime scene, though, even for simple food. He swore that for the short time they’d lived together immediately after everyone had arrived in this universe, he came downstairs for some coffee only to find jelly on the ceiling and one of the cooking-inclined sisters trying to scrape it off into a bag with a plate of immaculate toast sitting on the counter.

Someone had flicked on the Mettaton channel in the background as everyone filtered in and grabbed their seats, with Vell cheerfully claiming your other side while Crimson lounged against your legs - until Red sat down next to her, jostling her ‘accidentally’ until each rested against one of your legs. It left you slightly trapped, but the conversation and company was increasingly entertaining as the sisters spilled stories about the brothers - and vice versa. Pepper, Cinnamon, Black, and Russ had finally joined about half an hour later too, looking a disgruntled sort of determined on the parts of Black and Pepper. At one point Stretch asked about someone named Blade and Twist, to which Amber said they were ‘groundskeeping’ - then looked at you and asked about your opinion on gardening, to your confusion, but your reply made them grin. The room had quickly gotten even more raucous as the latest arrivals settled in with their own food, and at some point Cinnamon and Glyph had started passing around drinks…

Things had finally wrapped up though, and in desperate need of a little fresh air after the crowded room and company - and in strong need to  _ not _ watch the slow but intense cleaning of the kitchen - you found yourself on the front porch. 

Glyph looked up from where she sat balanced on the porch railing, one boot propped up. She smiled at you, catching the attention of Vell, who was standing next to her. She turned and lit up, immediately beckoning you over. Not minding the more controlled level of company, you walked over, smiling back.

“What brings you two out here?” you asked, cocking your head. You hadn’t gotten the chance to talk to Glyph much even at lunch; she seemed more inclined to be in the background and listen - though the girls had egged her into sharing a frankly absurd and unexpectedly action-packed story from her travels. She apparently was both a photographer and a traveling musician with a considerable following, and used where the girls lived together as a homebase more than anything. 

“BEING BANNED FROM CLEANING IS A BURDEN I MUST BEAR,” Vell said with a dramatic sigh, one hand resting over her chest. “BUT I GET TOO EAGER TO HELP, SO… SCARLET INSISTED I ‘BE ANYWHERE BUT HERE’. APPARENTLY, BLEACH IS NOT A UNIVERSAL CLEANER? DESPITE IT BEING SO EFFECTIVE…”

Glyph’s grin lifted as she caught the way you tried not to blanch at the idea of the kitchen smelling like pure bleach. Is that what criminals who were bad at covering their tracks did? You weren’t sure you could handle the thought of relating the lodge’s kitchen to a crime scene, especially with the tomato sauce on the walls really completing the effect…

“That’s… well, I’m glad you thought to go outside to resist temptation,” you said instead of expanding on the topic of household cleaners and toxic fumes. 

“RIGHT? AND GLYPH WAS OUT HERE ALREADY, SO IT CERTAINLY MADE IT EASIER!”

“Are you two close?” You asked, looking between them. 

Glyph glanced towards Vell to find her looking hopefully at her. Glyph chuckled softly and reached out to rest a hand on Vell’s head. Vell was at least a few inches taller than Glyph so it made for an interesting visual - but you could have sworn you saw stars in Vell’s gaze.

“... she’s always reminded me of someone i’m fond of,” Glyph said, her voice low. “but more’n that Vell’s an angel. always makin’ me the best damn pancakes when i get home from travelling for a few weeks, even if i arrive at three in the morning.”

Vell laughed proudly lifting a hand with a finger extended as if pointing out a fact. “BUT OF COURSE! YOU MISS A LOT OF EXCELLENT FAMILY MEALS WHILE YOU TRAVEL, SO IT IS THE LEAST I CAN DO TO ENSURE THAT YOUR FIRST MEAL BACK WITH US IS DELICIOUS  _ AND _ HAS A FAMILY MEMBER THERE!”

Glyph simply smiled more warmly at this, lowering her hand and propping her arm up on her lifted knee once more. You were pretty sure your own smile had widened at Vell’s words, too.

“It seems like you all really think of each other as family,” you said. “Beyond just your actual siblings, I mean.”

Glyph hummed thoughtfully, looking towards the forest for a few moments before her gaze returned to you. “something like that, you could say. we’re definitely all friends, though some of us are closer than others. neighbors know us as a close-knit extended monster family - and we just don’t correct them. it’s pretty accurate, in the end.”

Vell nodded, her hands clasping behind her back. “MONSTERS ARE NATURALLY COMMUNITY-ORIENTED! BUT IN OUR HOME UNIVERSES, SOME OF US HAVE… STRUGGLED, THANKS TO CERTAIN CIRCUMSTANCES. SO IT COULD FEEL PRETTY LONELY AT TIMES.”

She was looking off towards the peek of sky visible between the tops of the forest trees nearby and the edge of the roof hanging over the porch. Her voice was still as bright as ever, but had a softer, pensive lilt to it.

“WHEN WE WERE ALL PULLED HERE… WELL, BEYOND THE INITIAL CONFUSION, IT WAS HONESTLY… REALLY NICE. WE’VE GOT DIFFERENT WORLDVIEWS, SURE, BUT WE ACTUALLY HAD PEOPLE THAT UNDERSTOOD US.”

She laughed after a moment, the sound still a little softer than it had been earlier, but looked back to you. 

“WELL, I SUPPOSE IT COULD BE CONSIDERED CHEATING, GIVEN THAT WE  _ ARE _ VERSIONS OF ONE ANOTHER. BUT WHY SPLIT HAIRS? WE’RE TIGHT KNIT BECAUSE WE WANT TO BE. WE’VE GOT OUR FAIR SHARE OF MISUNDERSTANDINGS… BUT IT’S WORTH IT TO FIGURE IT OUT, I THINK.”

“we all do,” Glyph added, her low voice slipping in easily. Vell smiled at her again, a slight flush to her cheekbones as she lifted a hand to rub at her neck. 

“ER, I SPEAK TOO MUCH. BUT THAT’S HOW I FEEL. TO ANSWER YOUR OBSERVATION, THOUGH, I  _ DO  _ THINK OF US AS A SORT OF FAMILY - BUT MOST IMPORTANTLY, AS ONE WE CHOSE! WE COULD SPLIT UP INSTEAD, IT’S TRUE, AND PERHAPS IN SOME WAYS THAT MIGHT MAKE CERTAIN THINGS EASIER. BUT WE DON’T WANT THAT, SO WE STICK TOGETHER, AND I WOULDN’T TRADE MY FRIENDSHIPS WITH ANYONE HERE FOR THE WORLD.”

There was an undercurrent of deep honesty to her words that came through even in her expression. Her words were so fervent that it was a little hard to resist the urge to put your hand over your heart. 

“... That makes total sense,” you said, wiping a bit of dust off your cheek. Only dust, you told yourself. “It’s a different sort of dynamic but… from what I’ve seen, it fits you all really well, and it’s… really sweet.”

You received a beaming smile for your words, and a badly-hidden sniffle from her. A moment later you found yourself swept up in her embrace again, startling a laugh out of you. Still you returned her embrace, patting her lightly on the back before squeezing her back. She still smelled like the lunch she’d made, blending largely into a tangy scent from the spaghetti she had a major part in making - with a slight hint of citrus hidden underneath it. 

“YOU ARE SUCH A SWEET HUMAN! I AM VERY GLAD OUR FRIENDS HAVE YOU TO LOOK AFTER THEM, I CAN SEE HOW MUCH A DIFFERENCE YOU’VE MADE ALREADY,” she was pressing her face into your hair despite the height difference. Glyph sounded like she was chuckling at the sight of you being dwarfed in Vell’s hug, and you couldn’t blame her, given your height difference. Not that you were complaining, though - just like Papyrus’ hugs, you felt safe and a kind of treasured in them that always hit you right in the heart.

“I don’t do all that much,” you protested, slightly muffled in her scarf. You felt her shake her head vigorously above you.

“NONSENSE. YOU’RE A MISSING PUZZLE PIECE NO ONE QUITE REALIZED HADN’T BEEN FOUND YET.”

“Vell’s right, y’know. seeing all the guys actually  _ want  _ to eat lunch together, and with so little fighting? that’s a miracle in and of itself, angel.”

Glyph’s words were hard to find a reply to, so you didn’t, instead remaining buried in Vell’s embrace handily hiding the way your cheeks burned. 

You really couldn’t feel you were that important, but… it was flattering that they thought so.

“aw, are we interruptin’?”

Startling out of Vell’s arms, you turned around with too-warm cheeks and a flustered expression to see Serif standing in the doorway with Amber behind her, both of them grinning. 

You stepped back, lifting your hands in a quick wave as you said, “Oh, no - not at all, just, uh, a huggy moment?”

That didn’t help the warmth on your cheeks, but Amber just laughed and Serif’s grin widened as they both moved forward, letting the door shut behind them.

“those happen a lot with my sis,” Serif said with a wink, going to lean up against the support pole by the stairs next to the railing Glyph perched casually on. 

“we’re a pretty ‘huggy’ bunch,” Amber said, shrugging with a teasing glimmer to her eyelights as she caught your gaze. “might as well  _ embrace _ the opportunity, right?”

You grinned, shaking your head. “Well, you’ve got me  _ wrapped up _ in a tight spot with words like that.”

“damn, you sure you like living here? we might have room for you back home,” Amber shot back teasingly, pocketing her hands. “guaranteed less fires… usually.”

“we’ve got a lot of respect for Smokey the bear in our household,” Serif said, mock-seriously, nodding, but failing to actually subdue her grin. 

“why  _ wouldn’t _ you listen to a shirtless bear in the forest?”

“we had a shirtless wolf in ours.”

“we all did. man, she was  _ ripped _ .”

“THAT  _ IS _ WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU THROW ICE INTO A RIVER TEN HOURS A DAY, I SUPPOSE.”

“didn’t you try and get ‘sick gains’ like her at one point when you were only just outta stripes, Vell?”

“AMBER, WHY MUST YOU CALL ME OUT LIKE THIS.”

“ _ someone’s _ gotta do it for those sick gains.”

You were biting back laughter at the banter, Amber outright snickering at the put-upon expression Vell wore despite hiding her smile as poorly as Serif did. There was the distant rustling of a breeze that disturbed the leaves on the forest floor, but only Amber bothered to glance that way - the rest of you turned towards the door as it swung open once more, this time revealing Sans with Red standing behind him, rolling his eyelights at something with a grin. 

“Oh, hey guys!” you greeted. 

“there ya are, sweetheart,” Red said, his grin widening more as he caught sight of you. 

“talk about a party,” Sans said, looking at the small group of you. “did we miss an rsvp?”

“Clearly, only the most exclusive of invitations to the front lodge porch,” you replied back, your brow lifting as your arm swept lightly out. He grinned, but before you could add on to your sass, you felt your phone vibrating in your pocket. Your hand dropped to rummage for it as you heard the door swing shut behind the guys. 

“... hey, Serif, do you hear that…?” Amber said then, slowly, still looking out to the forest. Serif glanced up in the direction she was looking as you pulled out your phone, your brows lifting curiously.

“Oh, it’s Q - he had said he was busy still around lunch...” you murmured to yourself, about to press the accept button when suddenly, that sound of wind picked up in your direction.

“oh  _ shit _ -”

Your eyes lifted, then widened as Amber swore. 

Amber was diving forward in the way of the stairs as Serif startled from her relaxed position against the support pole a second too late as a tiny blur shot just past Amber’s grip -

And before Sans could react, the blur threw itself bodily with what you realized was a single leg extended in a kick at straight at his pelvis.

With a  _ crack _ Sans was slammed back into Red, who hit the door with a force far greater than most  _ normal _ sized people could have dealt out. Sans dropped to his knees with his eyelights snuffed out as Red cursed, both monsters hands dropping in an  _ extremely _ recognizable way to the junction of their legs.

Serif had suddenly disappeared from her position against the pole to a crouch in front of Sans, but rather than reach for him, her hands quickly closed around Alpha’s small robotic body as she pushed back to her feet, about to go in for more before Serif intercepted her. It was with a surprising amount of strength that Serif had to haul her back, and you caught the soft glow of blue magic around her hands as she did so. 

“hey- Alpha, what the  _ hell-” _ Serif managed to say as she took several steps back with her feisty handful. After climbing to her feet, Amber positioned herself between them and Sans and Red. Red was still cursing in a strained voice. 

“yeah, what th’  _ fuck-” _ Red managed to say, not quite pushing to his feet. Sans’ head remained towards the ground, but you swear you saw a slight shudder to his spine and an extremely muffled swear in his voice. 

Seeing that Serif and Amber apparently had Alpha on lock, you moved to Sans, only then realizing you still had Q calling you - for the second time now. As you dropped to your knees with a hand hovering by Sans’ shoulder in pained sympathy your thumb tapped the accept button with video. “Oh, Sans, gods - deep breaths - hey Q, uh, maybe not the best time, I’m sorry-”

“damn. too late, then?”

_ That  _ drew your gaze back to your screen. Q stood on the other side, arms crossed as it seemed he was looking through one of his interfaces to view the porch from more than just your phone’s camera. 

He whistled low then, apparently noting both Sans’ and Red’s posture. “that’s gonna hurt in the morning.”

“Wait, what-?”

“let me  _ go _ Serif, let me at him-”

“Alpha, dammit, what the hell, talk to us-”

Your gaze shot up to the girls then. Vell had taken an alarmed and concerned few steps forward, and Glyph was standing and looking between Alpha and Sans with a narrowed gaze.

Alpha swore, ceasing her struggle as she looked up at Serif, a clear furious scowl visible on her face as her hood fell back. “he had a version of me, Ser! that base origin save of me i came from - he had him, and he fucking  _ locked him up for a year!” _

You could have heard a leaf rustle in the woods for how silent everyone was.

You glanced back at Sans and Red, your eyes widening. Red was sweating, apparently unable to look away now. Sans had gone dead still. 

Your hand lowered from nearly resting on his shoulder. “Sans, you didn’t… tell them…?”

“no, he didn’t.”

It was Q that replied to you, causing your gaze to move back to your phone. Q’s expression was dark, but settled. It was then that you realized Alpha must have run off to find Q - if they were versions of one another, then no doubt that’s what she had sensed earlier when they’d all first arrived. She must have tracked him down, and spent the afternoon with him.

“But…” you trailed off. You… couldn’t be that surprised, you realized. Sans - and Red and Stretch - had kept knowledge of Q under lock and key, pretty literally. If the girls had moved out so soon after they’d all been pulled to this universe, it made sense that Cinnamon, Amber, Crimson, even Serif might not have known about Q. Yet they had ended up finding Alpha anyways, and now…

Serif’s expression had gone deathly hard to read. Her grin was gone, looking from Serif up to Sans’ kneeling form.

“... Sans.”

It was perfectly quiet for several long, long seconds.

Finally, he shifted, sitting back with a pained look as his skull rose, one socket closed. The shadows under his eyesockets looked particularly deep as he replied in a low tone, “... it’s true.”

The breath seemed to leave the girls, with the exception of Alpha, who seemed to have a fan subtly go into overdrive as she glared at Sans.

“...  _ why _ ,” Amber said, her voice quiet as she stared at him, then Red. It was clear that Red had known - he didn’t look surprised, but he was staring off to the side of the porch, his expression dark.

“... it’s a long story,” Sans muttered reluctantly. You heard Q scoff from your phone. Your heart twisted in your chest, this topic at least was decently familiar to you. You didn’t know the full instigating details of what had lead to Sans locking Q up, but… you felt you knew enough, at least to have made the decision you did in letting Q and his people free. And you hadn’t regretted your decision once, either.

“take a damn swing at it.” Serif’s voice was hard. It very nearly made your  _ own _ heart chill.

Sans’ gaze shifted finally to her. “... he made his own decisions, and kept making them even when i told him to stop. they nearly compromised us and interfered significantly with the world-”

“so you  _ locked him up?” _ Amber said, her brow drawing down further. She’d been standing in a way that clearly said she was ready to catch Alpha if she got free of Serif’s hold, but that posture had relaxed, and one of her hands had curled into a fist at her side as she stared down at him.

“on a  _ closed network _ ,” Alpha growled, “with his entire people in stasis, a damn  _ year-long _ coma, with a threat to permanently erase them just to keep him ‘in line’ or some  _ bullshit- _ ”

“it wasn’t that simple-” Sans said, but Serif’s gaze narrowed at him. 

There was something that shifted in Sans’ posture at that moment. Something minute, that if you hadn’t spent these past so many months with the brothers, with  _ him _ , you might not have picked up on.

It was almost as if he’d seen a ghost of himself, a nightmare mirror reflecting his own judgement.

“... and despite this ‘threat’, you decided not to tell us?” she said, her voice still quiet.

It was Red that finally spoke up at that. “you were already gone, ‘n had been for a while. it was fuckin’ complicated, and we felt like shit about it, alright?” he growled back, not looking at anyone but Serif, as if avoiding their gazes. He hadn’t once looked at  _ you  _ since Alpha’s arrival. “besides, it’s not like you guys were forthcomin’ ‘bout your own little techno-fuckin’-terror-”

“ _ we _ didn’t find out about her until after we’d moved and plugged in some servers from the boxes we took. after we  _ talked to her _ , and yes,  _ worked some things out _ , we figured we’d wait until we could introduce you in person, given how much you’re so busy with,” Serif said coolly. Her sockets narrowed slightly. “y’know, the stuff that’s kept you so busy you felt you couldn’t meet in person at our usual place for months. the same  _ stuff _ that even had you turning down offers for just a couple of us to come over, despite the whole deal where  _ we’re helping you consult regardin’ that damned machine. _ ”

It was like every word was a lance through Sans - yet he didn’t move, his body only growing more and more still with each one.

The  girls were framed by the daylight beyond the porch room, centered around Serif holding Alpha - Amber’s hand lowered from where it had been thrown out, her usually relaxed posture held more straight. Glyph was behind Serif off towards one side, her expression unreadable - and Vell to Serif’s other side, looked torn, saddened, and mutely horrified. Sans still sat, Red behind him with his back against the wall, you kneeling next to them, with Q’s image still displayed on the phone in your hand.

You didn’t even know what you could say to either side at this point.

“... none of my reasons are going to be good enough,” Sans finally said, his voice just as quiet. “for what it’s worth, i was comin’ out to talk to you about Q now.”

Q made a low, accusatory sound. “doubt it would have been the whole story.”

Sans shrugged minutely. “honestly, i wasn’t sure. i doubted it was gonna go well either way. but i… wasn’t going to keep you from knowing about him any longer, though, not since seeing you all in person again.”

“and seeing  _ me _ , right?” Alpha interjected, still scowling. “i saw it in your eyes, when you first came out earlier. a moment of confusion, but then  _ realization _ . with who all’s here, there was only one possibility that made sense to you.”

“no one else could have the kind of tech you must have in that robot body,” Sans replied, his voice a little wry. “even if Q hasn’t figured out detailed robotics yet.”

“yeah, sorry, it’s not like i wasn’t  _ isolated for a year _ or anything,” came Q’s voice. When you looked down, you saw he’d turned away from your viewpoint of him through your screen, now only catching a slight rear profile of him. His body was lined with tension.

“... so why did you end up releasing him?” Glyph asked, finally speaking up from where she’d been watching with a dark, unreadable expression. 

Alpha spoke quickly at that. “actually, turns out it was their landlady. she’s good people, confirmed, as it turns out,” she said, gesturing towards you. You met her gaze then, and for the first time since her re-arrival, you saw a grin flicker over her face. She nodded at you, adding, “... thank you, for that. for helping him, and everyone else. you really are an angel.”

Your face colored at her tone - completely genuine, as if she knew a very personal recollection. Glancing down towards your phone again, you saw Q looking at you once more, his expression still a little dark, but the tension around his eyesockets had softened.

“truer words,” he murmured quietly.

It was hard to return his gaze for long, so you instead looked up again. The girls were all staring at you now, a renewed interest and varying degrees of awed - in the case of Vell - to impressed - that was Amber - to something more complicated, too much so to unpack. 

Red finally pushed to his feet, groaning quietly as he did so, and without asking, dragged Sans to his feet too before reaching down to help you up. You joined them in standing, concern still running through you.

“... she’s too good for the lot of us,” Red grumbled. He still wasn’t looking at you, but his expression had lost some of its edge.

Sans didn’t say anything, but he did look towards you. His expression was hard to read, but… it wasn’t hard to think you could guess part of what went through his mind with the way his eyelights were focused.

You glanced away, unable to keep the intense eye contact.

Serif was looking towards your phone now, a single brow raised slightly. “... so, Q, right? you’re only digital so far?”

You stepped forward, lifting your phone so she could see his image more clearly, realizing it was a little awkward otherwise.

He nodded to her, looking at her with his own interest. “... yeah, so far. though Alpha and i did a lot of note swapping, so i’ve got my fingers crossed for that changing sooner than expected.”

Serif nodded, glancing down at Alpha as she shifted her grip, sensing enough of a lift in the tension of the group. Alpha stood up on her crooked arm, crossing her own arms and looking up with a sharper grin at the other girls. “and guess who has a new project regardin’ virtual reality on her list.”

Amber’s brows lifted at that, a slight grin pulling at her mouth. “what, holotech isn’t enough?”

“it’ll be two birds, one stone, if i play my cards right,” Alpha replied, looking pleased.

Serif huffed, an almost laugh. Her gaze turned back to Q, though, continuing, “i’m guessing then you’ve got the direct means to contact Alpha now. Al, you can share my contact info with him - if you want it, Q.” She nodded to him. You peered over the edge of your phone - Q looked slightly surprised, but nodded back, his hand shifting over a side panel briefly as you noticed Alpha go still for a brief moment. 

“mine too,” Amber said, nodding, echoed by Glyph, and an eager nod from Vell. 

Sans looked slightly uncomfortable, but didn’t say anything. Red sighed behind him, moving finally past him to stand closer to you. You looked to him as he did so, and his gaze flickered to you briefly. His mouth twitched, as if he almost grinned for you, but it didn’t quite make it, and as he looked away he scowled slightly.

“... so are you gonna keep attackin’ us, pipsqueak, or are we gonna keep havin’ trouble?”

Alpha’s brow rose as she looked at him, looking for all the world like she had the confidence of a full-sized monster. “i’m not saying we’re good, but i’ll call a truce on causing permanent coccyx trauma.”

Red rolled his eyelights, but you caught the hint of that grin almost returning at her blunt attitude. “yeah, yeah, sure. long as we’re clear.”

Sans’ hands tucked back into his pockets as he looked to Serif again.

“... we can talk more soon,” he said quietly, and added after a moment, “at our usual meetin’ place. next week, if you’re okay with that.”

It was almost a question, and after a few moments, Serif nodded. “... on your tab.”

That, at last, made Sans chuckle, his posture relaxing a little. “deal.”

“OH THANK THE  _ STARS _ .”

Vell’s hands lifted into the air, abject relief in her voice as she drew everyone’s gaze at her sudden words. 

She shook her head as she looked between her sister and the others. “WHY IS IT SO HARD TO COMMUNICATE?” She turned and pointed a finger at Sans and Red, causing their brows to lift. “AND YES, PARTICULARLY WITH YOU! WE MAY NOT LIVE TOGETHER, BUT WE  _ ARE _ A FAMILY! A VERY, VERY, WEIRD AND EXTENDED ONE, YES, BUT A FAMILY! EVEN IF IT’S HARD TO TALK ABOUT, YOU NEED TO GET OUT OF THE HABIT OF KEEPING EVERYTHING ALL SECRETIVE AS IF NO ONE ELSE COULD POSSIBLY UNDERSTAND, OR SHOULD BE ‘ALLOWED’ TO HELP CARRY THE BURDEN OF TOUGH DECISIONS!” Her hands went to her hips as she straightened from leaning towards them, huffing, “TRUST IN US, OKAY? IT’S A TWO-WAY STREET, YOU BONEHEADS!”

Red’s hand had lifted to his neck, rubbing at his vertebrae, sheepishly grinning. Sans sighed, but a tired smile quirked his expression.

Q laughed from your phone, his voice filtering out to the group. “damn, vell. you sure know how to tell ‘em off, don’t you?”

Her gaze went down to your phone, smiling, but quirking a brow. “DON’T THINK I DON’T MEAN YOU, TOO, Q.  _ EVERYONE _ HERE’S CLEARLY THE PROUD OWNER OF AT LEAST  _ SOME _ COMMUNICATION ISSUES, REASONS ASIDE.”

Q grimaced at that, and you bit back a grin. She was surprisingly adept at cutting through a lot of uncertainty and tension. 

A quiet ringtone sounded out then, and Serif looked surprised, her gaze flickering down. Alpha hopped over to Amber’s extending hand, jumping up to sit more casually on Amber’s shoulder as Serif pulled out her phone, paused at seeing the caller ID, then unmistakably smiled.

“be back in a moment.” 

She disappeared suddenly, reappearing further away, close to Glyph’s truck, where she faced away from the lodge and swiped at her phone to answer it, her words inaudible at this distance.

Sans’ brow had lifted, his gaze on Serif still, looking slightly surprised himself. Red’s gaze had already moved back to the other girls, however. “so how long are ya plannin’ on stickin’ around today?”

“why, you lookin’ to get rid of us? we already caught you  _ red-handed _ ,” Amber said, grinning at him with a brow arching. She lifted her hand towards Alpha still sitting on her shoulder, and extended a single finger. Alpha high-fived the tip of it.

Red snorted, but didn’t look particularly upset at the jab. Glyph leaned back against the closest porch roof support pole, glancing towards Serif before speaking. “one of the local venues from our hometown contacted me earlier, actually. they follow my photography feeds and saw i was nearby. they asked if i’d play tonight, so we’ve gotta head back soon.”

“Wait, how far away is your town?” you asked, curious. It had slipped your mind earlier, but you had gotten the impression that it wasn’t the shortest drive.

“if you’re going the speed limit the whole way and taking normal roads, something like four hours,” Amber answered. Alpha nodded in confirmation on her shoulder, though she appeared to now be more focused on a panel on her inner forearm, revealed by a pushed-up sleeve. She caught you looking curiously at her, and when she did, she stared for a moment before grinning, raising her hand in a finger gun towards you. You quirked a brow, looking at her inquisitively, and she fired it. The next moment she tapped a few things on that panel on her forearm - and then you heard Q make a choked sound on your phone.

You looked down at him, facing the screen properly towards you once again. “Q? You okay?”

One of his hands was covering the lower half of his face, and his attention was on one of his side panels. 

“doin’  _ great _ , peaches, honestly,” he said, his voice tinged with something strained. He didn’t seem upset though, so you just waited for a few seconds until he looked back up at you, an amused expression on your own face. He waved his hand vaguely as he finally lowered it. “don’t worry ‘bout it,  _ really _ . someone i’ve started working with recently sent me something that caught me off guard. but anyways-” he moved on quickly, “it seems like the high stakes are more or less wrapped up - i’ve got some things to take care of, so just call me if you need anything.”

“Sure thing, Q,” you replied. There was something in your expression though that had him pausing before ending the call, and he quirked a brow privately at you, giving you the opportunity to speak up. You paused, but then murmured, “... Sorry for all the trouble today,” wanting to say  _ something _ but not really sure how to broach it properly, let alone in front of the others.

He seemed to understand what you meant though, and his expression softened slightly. Shaking his head once, he said, “again, don’t worry about it. i’d chalk today up as one hell of a net gain, to be honest, the rest aside.”

You smiled at him. The fact that he’d be able to look at it that way, well… “I’m glad,” you said softly. “Have a good evening then, Q - I’ll talk to you later.”

He grinned back at you, and after a beat a swipe of his hand had your screen going dark with the end of the call. You pocketed your phone, a lingering smile still on your expression as you shook yourself to rejoin the matters at hand. While you were distracted it seemed Serif had finished her call, and was walking back up the porch steps once more.

“everything alright?” Sans asked.

Serif looked at him, clearly still not pleased with him, but she seemed unable to fully pull down her now-present grin. “yeah, that was our architect, actually.”

Amber and Vell perked up at this, and even Glyph and Alpha looked with interest at Serif.

“how’s she doing?” Amber asked. 

“DOES SHE NEED ANYTHING? WE COULD ALWAYS STOP SOMEWHERE ON THE DRIVE BACK!” Vell’s hands clasped as she said that, looking excited.

Serif chuckled but shook her head. “nah, nothin’ like that. she wanted to check regardin’ our feelings on skylights ‘n soundproofin’ in the rooms as well as the main floors.”

“ _ please _ tell me your exact words were ‘hell yes’.”

“damn close,” Serif grinned. “but also she’s got a new draft of the house plans she says will be ready for a look-over in a few hours. she invited us over to check them out.”

“did she work in my specs for the power gridding in the walls and the space for me to install the holotech in the trim?” Alpha chimed in, leaning in eagerly.

“yup, said she had to consult about a dozen building code manuals, but she found a way to work it in without inspectors bein’ able to shoot it down.”

“that woman is a goddess. are you  _ sure  _ i can’t give her a laser watch?”

“you’re a wonder, Alpha, but i’m tellin’ you, humans really don’t need lasers.”

“ _ everyone _ needs lasers.”

“Lasers  _ are _ cool,” you spoke up, unable to resist.

Alpha pumped a fist in the air and flashed you a grin. “hell yeah, angel’s got the right idea - point for lasers!”

Sans was looking as though he was extremely aware of the fact that Alpha and Q had likely just spent  _ several _ hours talking. Rather than say anything though, he just chuckled with a hint of resigned acceptance and ran a hand over his skull. 

“hate to break up shop talk, but we oughta be taking off,” Glyph said, glancing at her phone. “we’re gonna be cuttin’ it close to sunset and the show at this rate, ‘n if you’re looking to meet up with our little architect…”

Serif nodded and Amber moved to the front door behind Sans and opened it, raising her voice enough to call out to the others - but Vell seemed disappointed. She crossed her arms, looking towards you.

“I DON’T SUPPOSE YOU’D LIKE TO COME HAVE THE BEST SLEEPOVER EVER FOR A FEW DAYS? MAYBE A WEEK? TWO? I’M NOT PICKY,” she said, her gaze sparkling.

Red leaned over and propped his elbow on your shoulder, his grin crooked as he lifted an eyebrow. “sounds like you’re lookin’ to co-opt our landlady, Vell.”

She shrugged, opting to just smile. The clear gesture made Red snort in amusement, and you laughed.

“As much fun as a sleepover sounds, maybe we can plan a get-together for the future with a little more forward planning,” you offered instead.

“THEN IT’S A DATE!” Vell said, looking delighted. “WE’LL SHOW YOU EVERYTHING, SO BE READY FOR THE  _ BEST _ TIME, OKAY?”

She slid her phone out of her pocket. It was sleek, a model that you didn’t recognize whatsoever - and didn’t actually have a brand inscribed on it. On the back was a small engraved skull, but you didn’t have much time to inspect it before she extended it towards you. “HERE - OH, OF COURSE! TAKE OUT YOUR PHONE, UNLOCK IT, AND HOLD IT FACE UP-”

You complied curiously, extending it towards her. Red was leaning over you with some interest, and you caught Sans looking towards you too out of your peripheral. Vell tapped the face of her phone to yours and then swiped it back towards herself, and her phone made a starry bell tone and lit up. She flipped her phone rightside up once more, letting you take yours back, and smiled more brightly, her fingers flying over it quickly. Within a few seconds your phone buzzed with a notification from an unfamiliar number - and you opened it to see it was from Vell. 

Your eyes widened and you glanced back up at her. “How did you-?”

Vell slid her phone back into her pocket, looking proud as she glanced to Alpha on Amber’s shoulder. “ALPHA’S TECH IS BETTER THAN ANYTHING ELSE I’VE EVER SEEN! YOU’VE GOT A MODEL THAT DOESN’T HAVE THE SAME CAPABILITIES, BUT OUR PHONES ARE SET UP SO THAT WE CAN STILL SHARE CONTACT INFORMATION LIKE THIS EVEN IF YOU DON’T HAVE THE SAME TECH.”

Amber was walking back towards you with Alpha, and the rest of the girls were filtering out of the house behind you, along with several of the guys apparently finishing up conversations with them.

“Really? That’s - wow, that’s really impressive, Alpha,” you said, looking towards her, surprised. 

“that’s nothing,” she said, crossing her arms, looking pleased nevertheless at your praise. “you come see us and i’ll show you some hard tech that will  _ really _ take your breath away.” She then looked thoughtful for a moment, before her expression transitioned to something  _ decidedly _ sly. “but hey, maybe i oughta be saving that for another someone interested in taking a  _ byte _ outta you.”

Brows furrowing slightly, your cheeks heated as her grin grew. “I have  _ no _ idea what you’re talking about.”

She snickered, and Amber did too, eyeing you - and the way Red was still leaning on your shoulder, looking unimpressed. 

“sure, sure. oh hey, by the way, the reason Q choked earlier is because i sent him a picture of you standing here with a cute filter applied to it.”

“You  _ what-” _

It was your turn to make a choked noise, and you felt Red tense next to you. Your cheeks were flushing, and she just winked at you. “sorry, sorry, just the one, i swear - just wanted to test my stable connection to him and my upgraded camera, so y’know, two or three birds, one stone.”

“What’s the third bird?” You were trying to recover, but it was a little hard with this many people around.

“oh, the kind that goes around singing in the spring-”

Amber poked at Alpha then, cutting in as Alpha fended off her finger. “in any case, hun, it was nice to finally meet you. you more than live up to the hype, turns out.”

Sapphire popped around her side then, looking starry-eyed. “IT’S TRUE! I’M SO SAD WE CAN’T STAY LONGER, BUT IT JUST MEANS WE’LL HAVE TO GET TOGETHER AGAIN SOON!”

Amber extended a hand to you, which you took - only to be tugged forward with a mischievous grin as Sapphire’s intercepting arms closed around you with a laugh and Amber slung an arm around your shoulders too. You heard Red go off balance with a grumble behind you at your sudden shift, but Alpha distracted you from him as she hopped down to your shoulder and pat you on the head with a snicker at the skeleton sandwich you’d found yourself in. 

“... i meant what i said earlier, by the way. you really are good people. thanks for doing what you’ve done.”

“seconded.”

“THIRDED, OF COURSE!!”

When at last you extricated yourself from the tight hug, you saw a tinge of color on Alpha’s cheeks. It made you wonder if she actually  _ built in _ the ability to blush to her robot form, but you didn’t ask despite your curiousity.

“Please don’t thank me - I just did what was right,” you insisted, smiling despite your embarrassment at their own sentiments.

The girls shook their heads, but Amber grinned. “precisely proving that point about being good people. but hey, feel free to text me if you want, alright?”

“OH, ME TOO! PLEASE DO, I’D LOVE TO TALK TO YOU MORE, AND PLAN OUT FUTURE GATHERINGS!” Sapphire clasped your hands, and you couldn’t help but grin back at her. 

“Of course,” you answered - and the next moment your phone went off with a few notifications again. You looked in surprise at it, and back up - to catch Alpha shooting you another finger gun.

“got ya covered.”

“hey Al, go ahead and send her mine, too.”

You turned around as Sapphire released your hands, catching Crimson standing there with an arm slung around Red’s shoulders, accepting her cigarette back from him as he exhaled a cloud of smoke. His arm was slung around her shoulders too, and their matching attitude made you grin.

“Honestly, I don’t mind you all having my number,” you replied, laughing.

“you sure about that?” Alpha called out, sounding amused.

“Yeah,” you said, looking at her over your shoulder with a grin. “You’re good people, too.”

She snorted, but the next moment you heard the sound of various notifications hitting the phones of the girls on the porch, and an additional one to your own phone.

“y’know, it was a real pleasure gettin’ to know you - shame we couldn’t have had more private time t’do so even better,” Crimson said, drawing your gaze back to her. She was grinning with teasingly lidded sockets. 

Red rolled his eyes and lifted a hand, flicking her in the forehead. He received her open palm around his opposite shoulder smacking him on the cheek for his trouble, but he spoke up regardless. “don’t go gettin’ any ideas there, Crim.”

“what, you’re tellin’ me with an appetite like yours you’re not interested in a quality  _ sandwich- _ ”

Your face colored as Red shoved at her. She ducked out of the way though, snickering, and elbowed him in return. 

“awww c’mon, i’m kiddin’-” she winked at you then, adding, “well, mostly. you know who to call if you’re feelin’ curious, kitten.”

She walked forward to you then, ignoring Red’s mumbled threats as his hands shoved into his pockets.

Her hand lifted to your shoulder, and her teasing, sharp grin softened a tiny amount. “really though, ‘m glad t’see this lug and the other guys have someone like you t’ open ‘em up. they may be spooky scary skeletons, but they’re also a bunch of dense morons who’ve changed for th’ better since you arrived.”

With her voice the kind of low, rough soft that was hard to hear, you felt like her words were surprisingly private - and it certainly seemed like no one else had caught them.

“I think you give me too much credit,” you murmured, your hand going up to rub at your neck. “But it was good to meet you too, Crimson, even if you  _ are _ deadset on being the death of whoever’s the focus of your teasing.”

She grinned wider at that, her golden tooth catching the light as you caught her sister approaching behind her. “sweetheart, i’ll give you the best of  _ la petite mort _ if you ever find that curiousity of yours pickin’ up properly-”

Scarlet pushed Crimson lightly to the side by her skull, rolling her eyes with a grimace before you even had the chance to sort through Crimson’s words. “IGNORE MY SISTER, SHE CANNOT KEEP HER MOUTH SHUT OR HER INTEREST IN OPENING LEGS TO HERSELF.” Her hands went to her hips, regarding you for a silent moment while you tried to right yourself from the footing she’d effectively yanked from under you at  _ that _ particular phrasing. 

“i‘m only the devil to those that are  _ askin’ _ ,” Crimson said to the side, rolling her eyes amiably. 

Scarlet scoffed, but retained her focus on you. “NOW THAT YOUR NUMBER IS SHARED, WE SHALL RECTIFY THE GREAT OFFENSE THAT IS YOUR LACK OF DERBY EXPERIENCE. SAPPHIRE HAS SEVERAL MATCHES COMING UP SOON, AND I WILL BE THERE TO ENSURE YOU DO NOT LACK IN UNDERSTANDING OF THE GREAT STRATEGY AND NUANCE OF SUCH AN EXCELLENT SPORT.”

She spoke matter-of-factly, but there was a glimmer to her eyelights that was far too excited to quite pull off the effect she was going for. 

Biting back too wide a smile, you nodded. “Sounds great. I’m looking forward to it.”

“WHILE YOU ARE IN TOWN, YOU OUGHT TO TAKE SOME DEFENSIVE REACTION LESSONS,” Pepper said, striding up to Scarlet’s side, her arms crossed. Cinnamon was behind her, walking away from Russ as she tucked something into her back pocket with a pleased look. “BASED ON YOUR PERFORMANCE TODAY YOU  _ DO _ HAVE POTENTIAL, BUT IT IS WOEFULLY UNTAPPED.”

Your brows furrowed, unimpressed by her familiar attitude… but you realized then that there was a sliver of discomfort in the undercurrent of her voice. Her eyelights flickered away briefly at your continued stare, but met your gaze again resolutely afterwards. 

Was she feeling guilty that you had fallen from the wall on her watch…?

“Why… er, who would I be taking these lessons from, exactly?”

“FROM ME, OF COURSE.”

“my sister is a competitive obstacle course and fitness maze designer, and fight choreographer,” Cinnamon explained casually. “clients strike up contracts with her over movies, videos, training courses, all sorts of things.” Despite her easy expression, you could see pride in her eyelights as she glanced down at Pepper, whose posture had straightened even further as she smirked at you.

“THAT’S RIGHT. SO TAKE A LESSON WITH ME WHEN YOU COME VISIT. BLACK WON’T KNOW WHAT HIT HIM THE NEXT TIME HE TRIES SOMETHING WITH YOU, I GUARANTEE.”

Well,  _ that _ was a hard offer to turn down, you couldn’t deny. Being able to go a little better toe-for-toe with Black certainly sounded tempting. “You know what? You’re on, Pepper. I’ll let you know when I’m able to be there.”

Her expression lit up, still smirking but with her sockets widened slightly, her violet eyelights brighter. 

“EXCELLENT CHOICE. I SHALL HOLD YOU TO IT.”

As she and Scarlet began to walk away, Scarlet all but dragging Crimson with her towards Amber, Sapphire, and Vell already standing by the truck and motorcycles, Cinnamon paused in front of you.

“... thanks for trustin’ her,” she said, her hands tucked into her pockets. One of those blue-tipped cigarettes hung between her fangs, and she stood close. Her gaze flickered from the yard where Blue was now tackling Crimson in a hug only to be flipped over and rolled against the ground in a wrestling editionof what you could only assume Crimson’s version of a hug was for Blue.

“Well, you were right, weren’t you?” you replied, bringing your focus back to her. 

A single bone brow raised. “how so?”

You grinned. “I really was ‘in good company’, it turned out. Excitable and hard-headed, but good.”

Her sockets widened a fraction, and she huffed a laugh. “... ‘n you really are an interestin’ human, darlin’. hope to see you around again.”

She saluted you lazily with two fingers before strolling down the porch steps to join her sister and the others.

“y’know, i oughta thank you too. we’re anythin’ but a quiet group to handle when we’re all together.”

Your attention turned to the last of the girls, Serif and Glyph - and Alpha once again, who was now relaxing apparently with her lower half tucked into Serif’s hood, with her arms propped up on her shoulder.

“Honestly, it felt like business as usual, with a bit more caffeine thrown in the mix maybe,” you replied, shrugging with a laugh in your tone.

“can’t say that’s too surprising,” Glyph commented, looking amused. 

“Oh - but I’m sorry G isn’t around anymore,” you said, realizing that Glyph had been the only one to not connect with her male counterpart. “He took off travelling again a while back now…”

She looked a little surprised. “oh, i wasn’t expectin’ to see him, love. last i heard he was in Spain, i think.”

“Spain? I knew he travelled, but, well, wow,” you said. “Sorry, I just figured since you had apparently asked the others if they wanted to come, then…”

She smiled then, her socket lidding. “nah. G had asked if we were interested in coming to Gyftmas, but we all figured it’d be a bit much, and i was out of town most the month anyways. but he’d told me about you, ‘n with the others all bein’ interested in meeting you too, i figured a road trip was long overdue.”

It was hard to find what to say to that. Serif ended up coming to your rescue, her expression further eased from the tension she’d had earlier.

“there’ve been a lot of reasons we hadn’t come sooner-” her gaze flickered to Sans, standing a few paces away and talking to Red and Papyrus- “but i’m glad we threw them to the wind. it was good meetin’ you, finally.”

“I’d say the same but I’m afraid I didn’t know about you until today,” you said sheepishly, but they simply laughed, and you joined in. “But now that I  _ have  _ met you, I’m glad. I hope we get to see each other again soon.”

Glyph’s hand slid out of her pocket then, a folded up piece of paper between her fingers. She offered it to you, and simply winked when you accepted it. 

“say the word, and i get the feelin’ we’ll find a way.”

With that she lifted a hand in goodbye and walked away, moving down the stairs and towards her truck. 

You unfolded the paper curiously as she left, and saw an address to a website written down with a jumbled series of letters and numbers underneath it. Serif had leaned in to look, and she whistled low with a grin before catching your gaze.

“that’s Glyph’s blog for her music… but not her public one. she posts wips of new songs there, and first-access links to shows, even a few unreleased tracks - that sorta thing. you can only access it with a unique password she generates herself - no sharing. not a lot of people have it, including some of her diehard fans.”

Your brows lifted and you looked quickly back to Glyph, leaning against the hood of her truck in wait, chuckling as Blue stood triumphantly, lifting up Crimson above his head, who feigned going completely slack to throw off his balance, causing him to huff and screw up his expression in concentration as he tried to maintain his pose. Stretch stood nearby too, taking a picture with his phone.

“Wow, I… don’t know what to say,” you murmured.

Serif shrugged, her hand lifting to your shoulder. “no need. we like you, so you’re in with us. we’ve got your back if you need it.”

Something in the way Serif carried herself told you that no matter how casually she spoke, those words were not ones she tossed around to just anyone.

Your hand lifted to hers, resting over it for a moment, attracting her gaze. “Thank you, Serif. It means a lot. And you too, Alpha - thank you. I get the feeling Q is really happy to have met you.”

Your words earned you slow but warm grins, the kind that felt private and heated your chest with how genuine they were. Serif released your shoulder, but nodded at you. 

“you take care of yourself, alright?” her gaze went back to the guys standing close by - just far enough to not crowd you, but definitely close enough that you knew they were having to pretend like they couldn’t overhear you. She huffed a quiet laugh. “... you’ve got a lotta someones that really care about you.”

Your cheeks were warm, but you smiled back at her. “You too, Serif, Alpha.”

She saluted you lazily with a wink as Alpha mimicked the gesture, striding away to walk down the steps. As she did so, she glanced back to Sans, raising a brow and lifting her phone with a light shake. “next week,  _ Sansy _ . don’t go bailin’ on me.”

Her voice was dry, and Sans lifted a hand, looking tired but grinning at least marginally. “yeah, i’ll send you a message. try not to play  _ too _ much bob ‘n weave with the police scanners on your way back.”

She chuckled and shrugged. “no promises. Glyph’s show’s in t-minus three and a half hours, so we’ve got some rubber to burn.”

Sans shook his head, but didn’t argue as she turned around and made her way to the truck. She and Glyph - with Alpha still settled in Serif’s hood - climbed into the cab of the truck, while Vell and Scarlet vaulted over the side of the truck bed and settled in the back. Crimson, from where she’d landed free of Blue’s grip and clapped a hand to his back with a final wink, disappeared for a split second only to appear a few inches above sitting position to fall into the truck bed comfortably herself. Now that you were looking, you noticed some cushions strapped down to the sides, and a rope strung along the inner wall for grip.

Sapphire hugged Blue one last time, catching him by surprise and managing to lift him off the ground. He returned her embrace with a fierceness that rivalled their initial hug, laughing about something she said to him before they let one another go so she could walk back to her bike and mount it smoothly. Amber climbed on behind her, settling comfortably with her hands around her sister’s waist, while Pepper and Cinnamon did the same on the other motorcycle. 

Glyph started up her truck with the satisfying sound those old trucks always had, a rumble to it’s engine that spoke of being extremely well cared for. Sapphire raised her arm to wave at you one last time, shouting, “COME SEE US SOON, OKAY?” before revving her motorcycle to life. Amber lifted a hand in goodbye as well, before in a deft motion Sapphire kicked the bike into gear and took off, turning tightly around with Pepper immediately on her tail, both disappearing into the forest with a speed that said they had no intention on slowing down once they reached proper road. 

You raised a hand in goodbye to the other group as Glyph backed up to turn the truck around.

“Wait, how long does it take to drive there normally, again?” You asked, looking towards Sans, who returned your gaze with a brow raised.

“if by ‘normal’ you mean at speed limit, then four hours.”

“... And how long does it take  _ them _ to get back?”

You heard a loud laugh from the truck bed, and your gaze turned to catch Crimson giving you a thumbs up. She raised her voice - her hearing must be sharp, because it seemed she’d caught your words. 

“don’t worry, sweetheart, we can handle it. we like a  _ rough ride _ -”

Scarlet smacked her skull and effectively quieted Crimson’s words, but she still appeared to be laughing. Vell cupped her hands around her mouth as Glyph started driving away, shouting, “NO NEED TO FEAR, WE’LL MAKE IT BACK WITH AT LEAST HALF AN HOUR TO SPARE UNTIL GLYPH’S SHOW! WE’LL SEE YOU AGAIN SOON, SWEET LANDLADY!”

Glyph shifted gears, and the truck disappeared into the forest with a revving of the engine.

You were quiet in the wake of the fading sound of the engine, watching Blue and Stretch walk back towards the house.

“Hey, Sans.”

“yeah?”

“Didn’t they say that Glyph’s show was in three and a half hours?”

“yup.”

“So Vell meant they’d make a four hour drive in three hours.”

“mm-hm.”

“... And you mentioned weaving between police scanners.”

“sure did.”

“They’re going to break  _ so _ many laws, aren’t they?”

Sans laughed, turning to look at you fully at last, his expression wry. 

“seems like a handful of hours was enough for you to get to know them pretty well, after all.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ♡＼(T▽T )／♡
> 
> and with that, this side adventure with the lilytale crew is complete! <3 i just want to give one more major shoutout to tyranttortoise for being such an incredible storyteller herself to have created the much loved world around SSLL, and for being so supportive & fantastic regarding letting me scoot these ladies into that sandbox, even for (what was supposed to be) a short adventure! additional shoutout to joliemariella regarding Q and Alpha, of course, and to all of you cuties for reading this little fic and commenting/leaving kudos! 
> 
> let me know your thoughts & feelings - every single comment is fuel for writing the lilytale fic proper- and 100% received with my greatest love and thanks ;v; <3

**Author's Note:**

> Yup, nothing at all full of shenanigans could happen with several of them running in different directions, right?
> 
> Let me know what you think! <3 Any favorites so far? We've got a lot more to see from these skeleladies yet ;D 
> 
> Also, bonus extra shotout again to the incredible Tyrant_Tortoise for her incredible fic and for being down with my shenanigans with the lilytale crew in this fic X)


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